“He gave me the hug first before he told me that,” Diaz said with a laugh. “But he was really excited, he really was a big fan. And I appreciated he wasn’t weird or nothing. He was just a fan.”

It speaks volumes about Diaz that the former Strikeforce champion attracts such a following despite often refusing to play by the rules and showing a snarling persona rather than a smile.

There are two kinds of Diaz watchers: those who applaud his “I don’t give a damn attitude” and those who tune in hoping he will have the trash talk beaten out of him by his opponent.

For the UFC, that’s two fan bases in one and helps explain why it keeps going back to what amounts to a six-foot walking headache.

UFC president Dana White was reaching for the aspirin again this week when Diaz failed to show up for a public workout session Wednesday ahead of his UFC 183 showdown Saturday with former middleweight champion Anderson Silva.

It’s the first fight for the 39-year-old Silva (33-6) since he suffered a gruesome leg injury in a loss to title-holder Chris Weidman at UFC 168 in December 2013.

Anderson Silva in a file photo. (AP Photo/Felipe Dana)

Diaz (27-9-1) had elected not to get on his scheduled flight, the UFC later explained. The fighter landed in Las Vegas later Wednesday but not before White tweeted a photo of a milk carton with Diaz’s face on the side.

White said this week that a film crew dispatched to Diaz’s home for the “UFC Embedded” video series had been unable to find him.

This is a fighter who was pulled from a UFC 137 title bout with then-welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre after refusing to show up for press conferences. He once brawled with fellow fighter Joe (Diesel) Riggs in the hospital after their UFC 57 showdown.

Diaz has also been suspended twice for positive marijuana tests. Diaz told the Nevada State Athletic Commission after the most recent failed drug test that he had been prescribed a medical marijuana card to help deal with his ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder).

When Diaz did fight St-Pierre at UFC 158, he showed off his chatty side by launching into a stream of consciousness monologue of which White later said “(In terms of) craziness, that was a 10 out of 10.”

“He is a fascinating human being, very tough to figure out,” White added. “What most people care about, he does not. He’s a very unique individual.”

Younger brother Nate is equally abrasive. His signature win involved flexing his muscles and displaying two middle fingers while opponent Kurt Pellegrino was locked in a triangle choke.

After losing to GSP, Nick Diaz had reporters and White shaking their heads when the fighter confessed: “I’ve never paid taxes in my life, I’m probably going to go to jail.”

Diaz, a black belt in jiu-jitsu with slick boxing skills, has also admitted he doesn’t much like fighting for a living.

“It’s pretty rough. I don’t recommend anybody to be a fighter,” he said last July. “Fighting is not something I enjoy doing. It’s something I do that I feel I have to do and that’s just the way it is.”

And yet when he is in the cage, he usually belittles his opponents with a torrent of trash-talk.

Diaz, whose workout regimen includes triathlons, has fought at both welterweight (170 pounds) and middleweight (185). He says he walks around at close to 200 pounds and that making 170 has been “pretty rough”‘ in the past.

For all his quirks, the “UFC Primetime” show before his UFC 143 fight with Carlos (The Natural Born Killer) Condit showed Diaz as a loyal, single-minded athlete willing to dispense with the social niceties in search of excellence.

Diaz often said he wants to be known as someone who “who kept it real.” But he does it while travelling a bumpy road.

“Like my life’s a mess,” Diaz said in March 2013. “I’m not afraid to admit it.”

His parents had to sign a waiver to get the local commission to OK the bout for the 16-year-old lightweight. Even David Lea, his longtime trainer at Toshido Mixed Martial Arts in Kelowna, was a little concerned.

Lea had no qualms about the teenager’s talents. But he knew anything could happen in mixed martial arts.

“This sport there are so many variables,” he said. “You zig when you should have zagged and then all of a sudden you’re out. I remember having some real anxiety right before the fight thinking if this kid gets hurt, I’m never going to hear the end of it.”

MacDonald proved Lea right. He needed just two minutes 11 seconds to win via rear-naked choke and start a career that has taken him to a UFC title shot.

“Of course, that was the beginning of a journey,” MacDonald recalled Thursday from Montreal.

“I was definitely nervous for that fight, probably the most nervous I’ve ever been — for anything,” he added. “It was a big, big obstacle in my life, that first fight.”

Nineteen bouts later, the 25-year-old MacDonald is counting the months to fighting for the UFC welterweight championship.

“It’s good news,” he said of his date with destiny. “But I’m not going to be completely happy until it’s in my hands for real.”

MacDonald (18-2) will fight the winner of the UFC 181 main event between 170-pound champion Johny (Bigg Rigg) Hendricks and No. 1 contender (Ruthless) Robbie Lawler. They face off Dec. 6 in a Las Vegas rematch of their UFC 171 bout in March that decided the successor to Georges St-Pierre.

MacDonald, who lost to Lawler four fights ago and has not faced Hendricks, says it does not matter who he faces. He just wants to fight the best man.

MacDonald is not sure whether he will be cageside in December to discover his opponent. If he has his choice, he won’t.

“I don’t really like Vegas,” he said.

In confirming Wednesday that MacDonald was in the 170-pound title on-deck circle, UFC president Dana White did not specify a date or city other than to say his championship challenge would be in Canada.

“I’d love it if it was in Vancouver,” said MacDonald, a native of Kelowna who fights out of Montreal. “That would be my ideal spot. Anywhere in Canada would make me happy.”

The UFC has a March date reserved in Montreal. A Toronto date is also expected in 2015.

Tom Wright, director of operations for the UFC in Canada, Australia and New Zealand, said last week he expects two or three pay-per-view shows in Canada next year.

The UFC has held three fights in Vancouver to date. MacDonald has been on two of those cards, losing to Carlos (The Natural Born Killer) Condit at UFC 115 in June 2010 and beating Tyron (The Chosen One) Woodley at UFC 174 in June 2014.

In the wake of his weekend win over Tarec Saffiedine in Halifax, MacDonald is headed back to Kelowna to see family and friends. While he does not know the date of his title shot, his training continues.

“Nothing crazy though,” he said.

The black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu is also prepping for a no-gi grappling match with J.T. Torres at Metamoris 5 on Nov. 22 in Long Beach, Calif.

MacDonald, ranked No. 2 among welterweight contenders, has established his championship credentials, winning three straight and eight of his last nine in the UFC.

MacDonald is bidding to join St-Pierre and Carlos (Ronin) Newton as the only Canadians to hold a UFC championship.

St-Pierre vacated the title last December, saying he needed time away from the sport. He kept training and is currently rehabbing an injured knee. The 33-year-old from Montreal says he has not decided whether he is coming back.

MacDonald and St-Pierre, who both train at the Tristar Gym in Montreal, both said they would never fight each other for real.

So will MacDonald turn to the former champion for advice before his title shot?

“If I see him, I’m sure he’ll have some words for me,” said MacDonald. “But at the end of the day, it’s a fight. Sure there’s a piece of gold at the end of the road, but I’ve been in 20 professional fights now and I’m looking at this fight just as I have the other 20 fights.”

MacDonald was just 14 when he came to Lea’s gym. He soon became the first one in and last one out, soaking up everything he could about the sport.

“I’ve never taught anybody who was able to learn faster,” said Lea, pointing to MacDonald’s ability to maintain his focus.

MacDonald, then 20, became the youngest fighter in the UFC when he signed a four-fight deal in late 2009.

He was 9-0, winning the King of the Cage Canadian lightweight title at 18 — in his sixth fight — before winning the King of the Cage world 155-pound title a year later.

In between those fights, he stepped away from the sport in 2008, lacking focus and needing some time to sort things outside the cage. So he left Kelowna for Langley, B.C., stopped training for five months and started a carpentry job.

“It was a difficult time in my life, personally and in my martial arts career,” he said. “I was struggling for motivation. I wasn’t focused on martial arts, I did the right thing, I took a few months away and I came back hungry as ever.”

He moved back to Kelowna, and started training again. Three wins later, he had a UFC contract. And the road to the title began.

He needed four minutes 27 seconds to dispatch veteran Mike (The Joker) Guymon in his UFC debut in January 2010.

His friends and training partners gushed about him.

“I see the future of this sport in Rory MacDonald,” said middleweight David (The Crow) Loiseau.

“Rory represents the new generation of fighters,” said former UFC and Pride fighter Denis Kang.

In those days his nickname was The Waterboy, a reference to the Adam Sandler film. Like Sandler’s character in the movie, MacDonald apparently did not react well to anyone who tried to take liberties with him.

He has since changed it to the more bellicose Ares.

After Guymon, the UFC threw MacDonald into the deep end with a fight with Condit.

MacDonald’s approach to fighting changed after his loss to Condit, a fight that saw him take it to the veteran only to fade in the third round.

He admitted he let the moment get to him at UFC 115. While he had fought in the UFC once before, the adrenalin was pumping overtime for the fight in his home province.

“I got very emotional,” he said at the time. “It was a home town (crowd), they pumped me up. I had a lot of pressure on me, a lot of nerves. It was a big fight for me. It got very emotional for me, I just wanted to go in there and put on a good show, so I got a little headstrong.”

Asked if he could hear the Rogers Arena crowd chanting “Rory, Rory,” he replied: “It was pretty much all I could hear.”

His basic purse for the Condit oss was US$8,000 although he picked up another $85,000 for a fight of the night bonus. Against Maia at UFC 170 in February, his last fight for which purse figures were released, he collected a minimum of US$150,000 including a pair of $50,000 bonuses.

Today he fights without emotion. And he has managed to separate himself from the pitfalls of fame. He says the glitz, glamour and cameras are not what he works for.

“I’ve been able to separate the show from reality, some people can’t,” he said.

“I don’t focus on that,” he added. “I focus on the reality of the situation and just fight.”

When he steps into the cage, a stone-faced MacDonald stares across at his opponent. The smile only comes when his arm is raised.

MacDonald moved to Montreal after the Condit fight, to train full time at Tristar, although he also spends time at Renzo Gracie’s New York gym. He won five straight before losing to Lawler at UFC 167 in November 2013.

Lea says the Lawler loss also changed the young fighter.

“He was training with the wrong mindset and he was training to fight too conservatively,” said Lea. “There is that balance. You don’t want to be reckless but you also don’t want to sit back and just be reactionary … He just Lawler dictate the pace of the fight at the end there.

“I don’t think he’ll every make that mistake again. I think you saw him immediately, in his fights after Lawler, come out and really try to set the pace and take away that space and be the one who’s dictating where the fight’s happening. If he gets that, with a little bit more of a killer instinct when they’ (his opponents) are in troubles, I don’t think anybody’s going to stop Rory.”

While a private type, MacDonald says away from the gym he is into “regular young guy stuff.”

“I like video games, I like shopping, I like girls,” he said in a 2012 interview.

You can add clothes to that list. Like GSP, MacDonald will slip into a well-tailored suit for his post-fight interviews.

]]>http://o.canada.com/news/welterweight-rory-macdonalds-ufc-title-shot-is-years-in-the-making/feed0Rory MacDonaldthecanadianpressUFC 170UFC 167Rory MacDonald, right, elbows BJ Penn in the first round of a welterweight mixed martial arts bout at a UFC on Fox event in Seattle, Saturday, Dec. 8, 2012. MacDonald won by unanimous decision. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu) AP Photo/Jeff ChiuRory MacDonald stopped Tarec Saffiedine at an UFC event in Halifax on Saturday night. (Jonathan Hayward/CP) Nick Diaz back in UFC to face Anderson Silva, but still doesn’t like fightinghttp://o.canada.com/sports/nick-diaz-back-in-ufc-to-face-anderson-silva-but-still-doesnt-like-fighting
http://o.canada.com/sports/nick-diaz-back-in-ufc-to-face-anderson-silva-but-still-doesnt-like-fighting#commentsWed, 30 Jul 2014 20:56:25 +0000http://postmediacanadadotcom.wordpress.com/?p=492609]]>TORONTO — Veteran mixed martial artist Nick Diaz says he is ready to return to the cage despite the fact that he does not enjoy fighting.

The 30-year-old Diaz, who has long marched to his own drummer, has not fought since March 2013 when he lost to then-welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre at UFC 158 in Montreal. He had announced his retirement 13 months before after losing to Carlos (The Natural Born Killer) Condit but returned to face GSP for the title.

Diaz (27-9-1) then dropped out of the spotlight although his name kept resurfacing, usually with UFC president Dana White saying that Diaz had refused another bout.

“They were offering me fights and I wasn’t really interested in the fights that they were talking about for pretty much the last year,” Diaz told a media conference call Wednesday.

“I was looking pretty much for the biggest fight I could get myself into. Just like always.”

Mission accomplished.

Nick Diaz works out for the media during the UFC 137 open workouts at The Ultimate Fighter Gym on October 26, 2011 in Las Vegas, Nevada.

A Jan. 31 date with former middleweight title-holder Anderson Silva at UFC 183 — the UFC’s marquee Super Bowl card — along with a new contract extension proved to be enough to bring the rebel fighter from Stockton, Calif., back into the UFC fold.

The 39-year-old Silva has not fought since suffering a horrific leg injury in a loss to middleweight champion Chris Weidman last December at UFC 168.

The return of Diaz and Silva gives the UFC two more marquee names sorely needed due to injuries and the proliferation of fight cards. The pay-per-view show originally slated for December in Montreal, for example, may be pushed back to March — likely due to lack of a suitable main event.

Diaz is a polarizing figure, an accomplished Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt with prickly boxing skills who fights with a sneer on his face — usually while talking trash to his opponent.

No lover of media commitments, his refusal to play by the rules was demonstrated when he failed to show up for a Toronto news conference when he was originally scheduled to meet St-Pierre. The UFC promptly pulled him from the title bout.

Still his “I don’t give a damn” attitude has won him plenty of fans.

Diaz’s time away from the sport after the Condit loss was also enforced after he was suspended a year for a positive marijuana test (he was also banned for the same reason following a 2007 Pride fight). Diaz told the Nevada State Athletic Commission after the most recent failed drug test that he had been prescribed a medial marijuana card to help deal with his ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder).

Georges St-Pierre and Nick Diaz exchange during UFC 158.

Younger brother Nate is equally abrasive with a signature win that included flexing his muscles and displaying two middle fingers while opponent Kurt Pellegrino was locked in a triangle choke.

Nick Diaz says his time away from the sport was beneficial and productive, both physically and mentally.

“I spent the last what, almost 16 years with some sort of tournament, competition or an MMA fight,” he said. “It’s been a real experience.”

Diaz said it seems like he has always had a fight looming, be it in real life growing up or the UFC.

“After 37 fights, what 16 years, being extra-serious, that’ll do something to somebody,” he said. “It’s pretty rough. I don’t recommend anybody to be a fighter. Fighting is not something I enjoy doing. It’s something I do that I feel I have to do and that’s just the way it is.”

“I don’t like to hurt anybody,” he added. “I’m a non-violent person.”

The six-foot Diaz has fought at both welterweight (170 pounds) and middleweight (185). He says he walks around at close to 200 pounds and that making 170 has been “pretty rough” in the past.

He said he had never really quit the sport, saying you never retire from martial arts. He just wasn’t going to take a fight he wasn’t happy with.

“I just pretty much needed some time off regardless and you don’t really get time off in the UFC without returning sometimes or getting hurt. I guess I don’t break easy, like some of these guys.”

Asked about his new contract extension, he said: “I can’t complain. I can’t ask for anything more. I’m happy with the deal that I made.”

“It’s hard out there,” he added. “Especially when the rest of these guys aren’t getting paid what they should be getting paid. And they sit around and they can’t open their mouth about anything for the most part when it comes to what they do.”

Diaz said he’s willing to speak out, where others aren’t.

“It’s a really complicated road if you’re an MMA fighter,” he added.

A file photo of Nick Diaz.

Diaz demonstrated that when asked if he was excited to fight a legend like Silva.

“I don’t use that word (excited) in this sport,” he said. “I use that word like maybe if I’m starving and food’s showing up. Or I’m excited to have a couple of days off.”

Asked again if he would enjoy getting in the cage with Silva, he was definite.

“Definitely not. Would you enjoy fighting Anderson Silva?”

Asked what he expects from Silva given his injury layoff, Diaz was noncommittal.

“You never know what you’re going to get. Life is like a box of chocolates,” he replied, referencing the film “Forrest Gump.”

Diaz said he was taking his career “day by day, fight by fight.”

“I don’t need much. I can survive without fighting. The thing is I just want to do the best I can, like everybody else.”

]]>http://o.canada.com/sports/nick-diaz-back-in-ufc-to-face-anderson-silva-but-still-doesnt-like-fighting/feed0DiazthecanadianpressNick Diaz works out for the media during the UFC 137 open workouts at The Ultimate Fighter Gym on October 26, 2011 in Las Vegas, Nevada.UFC 168Georges St-Pierre, GSPA file photo of Nick Diaz.In absence of GSP, Rory MacDonald ready to make welterweight markhttp://o.canada.com/sports/in-absence-of-gsp-rory-macdonald-ready-to-make-welterweight-mark
http://o.canada.com/sports/in-absence-of-gsp-rory-macdonald-ready-to-make-welterweight-mark#commentsFri, 18 Apr 2014 22:57:47 +0000http://postmediacanadadotcom.wordpress.com/?p=431333]]>Georges St-Pierre’s departure from the welterweight scene, temporary or otherwise, changed the playing field for everyone in the UFC’s 170-pound weight class.

None more so than Rory (Ares) MacDonald. The 24-year-old can finally chase the title unencumbered.

MacDonald, ranked No. 2 among welterweight contenders, trains at the same Montreal gym as the former UFC champion. St-Pierre has been one of his mentors. They share coaches and training partners.

As MacDonald rose up the rankings, he and St-Pierre were constantly asked about whether the allies would ever fight.

“It was pretty much any interview I did,” said MacDonald.

Now the landscape ahead is clear.

x

“I feel like I’m on my own path now,” he said in an interview this week at Quebec City, where he was making appearances for the UFC around “The Ultimate Fighter Nations” finale card. “As much as I didn’t think it was bothering me at the time, it was. It’s a distraction, it’s always something in the back of your head. I never wanted any drama there, anything like that but at the same time I wanted what I wanted — the (championship) belt.

“So right now, the way it all worked out, I feel a lot less stress about it. I just feel like I’m having fun, enjoying my time.”

MacDonald returns to his home province June 14 to face No. 3 Tyron (The Chosen One) Woodley in the co-main event at UFC 174 in Vancouver’s Rogers Arena.

The 32-year-old Woodley, an explosive former two-time All American wrestler from the University of Missouri, went 8-1 in Strikeforce before moving into the UFC.

He opened his UFC account with a 36-second knockout of Jay Hieron. After a split-decision loss to Jake Shields, he bounced back with wins over Josh Koscheck and Carlos (The Natural Born Killer) Condit.

The winner between MacDonald (16-2) and Woodley (13-2) will likely get a title shot at Johny Hendricks, who is recovering from bicep surgery and a fractured shin following his championship win over (Ruthless) Robbie Lawler at UFC 171 in March.

MacDonald said he is happy to fight again before a possible title shot.

“I wanted to. I didn’t want to sit on the sidelines anyway,” he said. “I think me against Tyron is a great matchup for a No. 1 contender shot. We’ve both had good wins and good showings in our UFC careers.”

“I was really pulling for Lawler because I fought him in the past and have a lot of respect for the guys I fight,” MacDonald said. “Obviously I was excited to see him do that well.

“I just think Hendricks was the better man in the very end of the fight. He pushed it. He pushed through being tired, being hurt. That’s what a champion does. .. He finished hard, he won that last round. And that’s what won him the fight in my opinion.”

MacDonald lost a split decision to Lawler at UFC 167 last November, when GSP won a controversial split decision over Hendricks.

MacDonald admits there was a time before the Lawler bout when he did not enjoying fighting.

“I had a lot of injuries I was battling through,” he said. “It weighs on you.”

Looking back, he says he probably should have pulled out.

“They (the injuries) were pretty serious. But I was sick of doing that,” he said. “I was sick of getting injured before a fight, pulling out. I think fans were really annoyed with me doing that. I just had to fight through that.”

His only other loss was to Condit in June 2010 — a TKO with seven seconds remaining — at UFC 115 in Vancouver.

It was MacDonald’s second fight in the UFC and the adrenalin was pumping. He dominated the early going but the veteran Condit rallied in the final round.

His first fight was a small televised event in January 2010 in Fairfax, Va., where Macdonald submitted Mike Guymon in four minutes 27 seconds.

The frenzy of the Condit fight — and audience — took MacDonald by surprise.

“People were going insane,” MacDonald recalled in an earlier interview. “I never heard that level of noise in a building … I was super-shocked and it just got me fired up to a point where it was, like, bad. If you watch that fight you could see the intensity that I was bringing and I don’t think that was my style. And I paid for it.”

The loss was humiliating for MacDonald.

“Because I was just laying there getting beaten on,” he told reporters after his December 2012 win over B.J. Penn in Seattle. “My face looked like I was a guy from ‘The Goonies’ after. I was embarrassed, I was embarrassed about my performance and how I held myself. It did a lot of damage and I don’t think I’ve been the same person since.”

The loss changed MacDonald. He moved from Kelowna, B.C., to Montreal in the aftermath to train with coach Firas Zahabi, St-Pierre and other elite fighters at the Tristar Gym.

He also focused on fighting without emotion, reasoning that it contributed to the loss in Vancouver.

MacDonald was slated to meet Condit again at UFC 158 in March 2013 but had to pull out due to injury. Hendricks stepped in and won, setting up his title shot against St-Pierre.

MacDonald, meanwhile, rebounded from the Lawler loss with a unanimous decision over Brazilian submission ace Demian Maia at UFC 170 in February.

Talk to MacDonald these days and you notice how big he is. The six-footer may fight at 170 pounds but its a weight he serves only occasionally.

He walks around at 200 pounds.

“I’m big right now. I’m not dieting but I’m in shape,” he said.

MacDonald was just 14 when he started training in MMA. Born in Quesnel, B.C., MacDonald started training with David Lea in Kelowna. He had his first pro fight at age 16 in Prince George, because it was the only place to let him fight. Even then, his parents had to give their approval.

He won the King of the Cage Canadian lightweight title at 18 — in his sixth fight — and the King of the Cage world 155-pound title in his next outing a year later.

MacDonald became the UFC’s youngest fighter when he signed on at 20 in the fall of 2009.

Years later, he is comfortable in his own skin and happy with his fighting career. And while he is in a sport that often rewards self-promoters, MacDonald does things his own way.

“I’m not here to talk,” he said. “I’m not a great promoter but I believe I am one of the best fighters in the world. And I’m going to be the best fighter in the world eventually. And I think people are going to appreciate what I bring to the cage.”

Cassie is a mixed martial artist with over five years of study. Training primarily in South Korea, she has black belts in Taekwondo, Hapkido, and Muay Thai kickboxing. A proud Canadian from Roberts Arm, Newfoundland, she files for The Crossfire having returned from South Korea. She also blogs for Postmedia Networks’ Womens Fight Club website. Image courtesy Steve Bartlett

Courtesy Zuffa LLC.

UFC FIGHT PASS EARLY PRELIMS

Johny Hendricks speaks with the media during the UFC 171 Ultimate Media Day at American Airlines Center on March 13, 2014 in Dallas, Texas. (Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images)

DANIEL “THE PIT” PINEDA VS ROB “THE HAMMER”” WHITEFORD

DALLAS, TX – MARCH 14: (L-R) Opponents Daniel Pineda and Robert Whiteford face off during the UFC 171 official weigh-in at Gilley’s Dallas on March 14, 2014 in Dallas, Texas. (Photo by Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images)

WINNER: ROBERT WHITEFORD VIA UNANIMOUS DECISION.

Wiseman: While I gave Pineda the ground advantage, all he did against Whiteford was try to limit his ability to posture up. He set up a few submission attempts that were dangerous, but realistically it was Whiteford’s ability to score takedowns that gave him the fight.

Wiseman: As I said, Bubba has yet to impress me and if there was ever a time that Bubba could impress it was tonight against Strickland. Strickland was making his UFC debut and he took the fight on two weeks notice. What happened? As usual Bubba looked like a beginner. Strickland stopped Bubba’s takedown attempt, scored his own takedown, gained top control, transitioned to back and voila, submission. Come on. I don’t understand how Bubba can have the experience he has yet never look the part of a real challenge for anyone.

WILL CAMPUZANO VS JUSTIN “TANK” SCOGGINS

DALLAS, TX – MARCH 14: (L-R) Opponents Will Campuzano and Justin Scoggins face off during the UFC 171 official weigh-in at Gilley’s Dallas on March 14, 2014 in Dallas, Texas. (Photo by Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images)

WINNER: JUSTIN SCOGGINS VIA UNANIMOUS DECISION.

Wiseman: I wasn’t surprised that Scoggins dominated the entire fight, but I was surprised by the way he showed versatility. He didn’t rely on his power, but showed a terrific blend of karate and wrestling. Campuzano was constantly on the defence and just unable to get anything going from beginning to end. Incredible performance by Scoggins.

Wiseman: It was all Forte’s for the taking, but the cardio of Forte was his killer. Trevino realized that Forte was slowing down and certainly took advantage of things. Considering they have the same amount of fights, but Forte has fought higher level opponents, it was certainly a big win for Trevino.

Wiseman: What a slugfest, especially the second round. Cardio was a constant topic of conversation regarding Garcia, but his ability to land consistent takedowns really gave him the fight. In the striking department Spencer was able to hold his own, but he needs to improve his takedown defence .

Wiseman: It was a different Bermudez inside the octagon tonight. The pace and aggression that he started the fight with he kept throughout the three rounds until Hettes just quit. Hettes, a talented fighter, looked ordinary tonight. Bermudez was able to keep the fight exactly where he wanted it, without showing cardio problems.

Wiseman: What a battle! Andrade with her aggression, judo throws, and strikes really kept Pennington on the defense. Pennington showed great striking of her own, but needed to mix things up a little more to keep Andrade guessing. The final round had Pennington shinning and she somehow managed to still have enough energy to throw Andrade around a little. It was a split decision, but fantastic all around. Andrade needs to move her head more to take less damage and Pennington needs to learn to keep distance on her side.

KELVIN GASTELUM VS #14 RICK “THE HORROR” STORY

Kelvin Gastelum, in blue, lands a punch on Rick Story during a UFC 171 mixed martial arts welterweight bout, Saturday, March 15, 2014, in Dallas. Gastelum won by decision. (AP Photo/Matt Strasen)

Note: Gastelum missed weight, coming in at 172.5 pounds at the weigh-ins.

Wiseman: I knew it would be a battle, but nothing like what we saw. What a performance put on by both fighters. The difference being the striking of Gastelum early in the fight. Story didn’t start turning things up until near the end of the 2nd, the 3rd had moments for both fighters. It was the 1st round and the majority of the 2nd that really gave Gastelum the edge. Extremely entertaining, but Story’s inability to mix things up when he isn’t in control was really exposed tonight. Gastelum’s striking has evolved so much in such a short amount of time. An up and comer for sure.

Wiseman: I blinked and this fight was over. OSP was able to get the takedown as I expected, but I didn’t see the choke coming at all. I thought OSP was moving for the crucifix, but suddenly the ref stepped in because it was over. Very impressive growth shown by OSP.

Wiseman: Aside from the first 5 minutes it was a pretty meh fight. Shields didn’t show up until the last fifteen seconds of the last round and Lombard went to sleep in the second. Lombard basically knew he was winning, so he didn’t over extend himself at all. Shields just never had anything going. His ground game was none existent until the last 15 seconds, all of his takedowns were stuffed, he didn’t throw enough of his kicks, etc. However, neither were impressive.

Wiseman: What a smart game plan by Jury. He kept distance on his side and set up his takedowns well. He avoided getting trapped against the cage and kept his cool throughout. Sanchez has never been the most technical fighter, but no one does entertaining like him. He always puts his heart into every fight. Jury just had the better plan.

Wiseman: The cardio of Woodley was a question right from the start, but when he did load up it counted. Condit’s cardio is always top notch, but Woodley making every strike count really allowed him to win. Condit is amongst the best, but the powerful striking of Woodley was just more then his joints could take tonight.

Wiseman: The first two rounds were for Hendricks, the third and fourth for Lawler, and with only 1 minute left Lawler just gave up. Hendricks was able to rock him and scored a takedown to finish the final round. Hendricks showed that he has evolved mixing things up much better with leg kicks and fakes. Lawler took too much damage instead of fighting smart. He had all the tools he needed to win, but he allowed himself to lose.

That is now the big question after the welterweight initially failed to make weight at the weigh-ins, then shed the 1.5 pounds on his third attempt afterwards.

UFC president Dana White admitted he was not prepared for that situation, and said they would have fought still, but only Lawler would have been eligible to win the title.

He chalked up the situation to a problem with the scales Hendricks was using, as he has made weight previously for every other UFC fight.

So, after some drama, we are here.

After the controversial victory by Georges St-Pierre over Hendricks at UFC 167, fight fans now get to see the two biggest contenders go at it for the welterweight strap vacated by St-Pierre.

Many fight fans, MMA Crossfire included, feel Hendricks won the fight and should be defending the belt here; it is all sauce for the goose as “Bigg Rigg” gets his chance to redeem himself against another vet who feels the same.

Robbie Lawler has kareemed back and forth between some of the top MMA organizations since UFC 37 in 2002 (!) At 32, he’s found his stride and maturity to challenge for the sport’s biggest prize.

All under the watchful eyes of the of the other top welterweights; Carlos Condit and Tyron Woodley square off in the co-main event while Jake Shields and Hector Lombard stake their claim for the title mix.

One thing is clear: Many of the other questions in the welterweight division should be answered Saturday night at the American Airlines Center in Dallas.

Can Hendricks repeat his standout performance against GSP? Can Lawler continue to ride the momentum with his convincing wins over Rory MacDonald, Bobby Voelker and Josh Koscheck?

Cassie is a mixed martial artist with over five years of study. Training primarily in South Korea, she has black belts in Taekwondo, Hapkido, and Muay Thai kickboxing. A proud Canadian from Roberts Arm, Newfoundland, she files for The Crossfire having returned from South Korea. She also blogs for Postmedia Networks’ Womens Fight Club website. Image courtesy Steve Bartlett

Courtesy Zuffa LLC.

UFC FIGHT PASS EARLY PRELIMS (6PM ET/3PM PT)

Johny Hendricks speaks with the media during the UFC 171 Ultimate Media Day at American Airlines Center on March 13, 2014 in Dallas, Texas. (Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images)

DALLAS, TX – MARCH 14: (L-R) Opponents Daniel Pineda and Robert Whiteford face off during the UFC 171 official weigh-in at Gilley’s Dallas on March 14, 2014 in Dallas, Texas. (Photo by Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images)

Wiseman: Grappler vs striker. Pineda is able to submit anyone while Whiteford relies solely on his KO power. Whiteford isn’t decorated enough yet to swim in this division. This is where Pineda is setup to win. I see him testing out the striking, Whiteford swinging for the fences, Pineda scoring the takedown and transitioning into a submission from there. I have this finishing quickly to start off the card.

Wiseman: Bubba has yet to show me that his experience is really an asset. While he is a good grappler and submission fighter, there always seems to be some reason why things don’t go his way. Strickland is coming with a perfect record and the power advantage, but I’m not sure how he will do entering into the octagon fresh off the boat.

Wiseman Prediction: Bubba “The Menance” McDaniel via decision.

WILL CAMPUZANO (13-5-0) VS JUSTIN “TANK” SCOGGINS (8-0-0)

DALLAS, TX – MARCH 14: (L-R) Opponents Will Campuzano and Justin Scoggins face off during the UFC 171 official weigh-in at Gilley’s Dallas on March 14, 2014 in Dallas, Texas. (Photo by Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images)

Wiseman: At 125, it’s hard to believe that these guys have KO power, but prepare to be surprised. Campuzano will try to damage from a distance while Scoggins is always aggressive and pushing forward. The problem with Scoggins is that he tend to rely on his power. Campuzano mixes things up more. With that said, Scoggins still has this fight. If not while standing, it will happen when he takes Campuzano to the mat via ground-and-pound. A TKO finish.

Wiseman: I like this match for Trevino. He is going against a well-rounded fighter in Forte, but their skills match well. They both like to strike, but are calculating. Trevino is the finisher of the two and has more power, plus a better submission game. Forte is great in the clinch and a powerful grappler, but Trevino is going to have people saying his name after this fight.

Wiseman: Finishers tend to be the favorite in a fight, therefore Garcia looks to win this match. Spencer has KO power, but nothing in comparison to Garcia. Spencer isn’t a fool on the mat, but Garcia is superior. When it comes to finishing, Garcia will find a way to take judging into his own hands.

Wiseman: Bermudez is the more well-rounded fighter, but what Hettes does, he does extremely well. It’s similar to how Rousey does armbars, you know it’s coming, but you can’t do anything to stop it. Hettes’ ground game is like that. He is able to control where the fight goes with his grappling ability, takedown defence, and takedown set ups. When on the mat it’s the Hettes show. Bermudez has the power advantage, but without he isn’t going to be able to use that power while in the clinch.

Wiseman: With a 4-inch reach advantage, Pennington is going to need it to outstrike Andrade and to stay away from a grappling match. Andrade thrives in close range, transitions to a takedown, then moves for a submission. However, when it comes to strikes, Pennington is the more technical whereas Andrade fires in flurries. I have Pennington being overwhelmed, note letting her strikes go like she needs, and Andrade being able to get things going in her favor.

Note: Gastelum missed weight, coming in at 172.5 pounds at the weigh-ins.

Wiseman: Fantastic fight! Gastelum continues to show potential both on and post TUF. Gastelum’s best game plan in this fight is to bring things to the mat to take control. Story is explosive and fast. His power is insane, but Gastelum can time things during a rush with his own powerful striking. This is the highest level that Gastelum has ever faced, but keeping distance out of the equation and turning this into a grappling match will certainly be to his advantage.

Wiseman: The biggest advantage that OSP has is his power. He is a monster in the standup and his ground-and-pound is vicious. Krylov is fantastic on the mat, but it’s a different story when you have a powerful opponent pounding your face. OSP will be able to dictate where the fight goes simply with his grappling and power. Krylov will be on the defence early and unable to get things going his way.

Wiseman: While GSP stated that Shields is overlooked a lot, in this fight I’m going to have to do exactly that. I’ve never been impressed with Shields’ striking and the way he is always so flat-footed makes his movement seem awkward. Striking has never been a strong point for him and he lacks KO power. He isn’t a fighter to sleep on because of his wrestling and ground game, but the skills that Lombard brings to the octagon will certainly put Shields to the test. Lombard has a ground game, enough to stay out of trouble, but his best weapon is his striking. He is also able to set up a takedown yet stuff a takedown as well. The only way Lombard loses this fight is if he doesn’t mentally show up.

Wiseman: If the term “savage” were looked up in the dictionary I’m sure there would be a picture of Sanchez beside it. He doesn’t quit, his warrior spirit is unquestionable, and he is in any fight until the end. Jury is coming with a load of heat behind him, and for good reason. However, when it comes to the battle that he is about to embark upon, I’m not convinced he is ready. Diego is a well-rounded fighter who sets an insane pace, throws a flurry of punches, and will frustrate Jury as he walks through strikes thrown against him.

Wiseman: While no one can argue the talent of Condit, lets just be honest, he isn’t the strongest when it comes to stuffing a takedown. His unique striking combinations have really been his bread and butter. Woodley embodies everything that Condit struggles with, heavy hitter with tremendous wrestling. I’m going for the upset.

(L-R) Opponents Johny Hendricks and Robbie Lawler face off during the UFC 171 official weigh-in at Gilley’s Dallas on March 14, 2014 in Dallas, Texas.

Wiseman: The weighins shocked me. There, I said it. Hendricks looked small in the face, dehydrated small. He was shaking with excitement, but was 1.5 pounds overweight. He did lose the weight after, but just wasn’t what I expected from Hendricks. When I look at the stats and compare fighting styles I have Lawler surprising everyone. I feel Lawler is a perfect matchup for Hendricks. Their takedown abilities, takedown defense, power, ground-and-pound, lack of submission attempts, etc. In all of these areas they are the same, but Lawler has a slight advantage in each. Hendricks rushes in more, but if we have the Hendricks that laid back more like we saw against GSP, Lawler will have time to put together his game plan and shock the majority of fight fans.

The UFC championship landscape is markedly changed from 2014, continuing the trend from 2013. And it may not stop there. Featherweight champion Jose Aldo is up next to defend against #1 challenger Ricardo Lamas at UFC 169. If Aldo loses, that means 5 former champs in less than a year:

The first signal was definitely Anderson Silva’s loss at UFC 162, but perhaps more accurately Georges St-Pierre’s ACL injury, recovery and defence against Carlos Condit at UFC 154. Although GSP won with an excellent performance, Condit nearly finished GSP with the headkick and for the first time in a long time, we saw a visibly beaten and bloodied GSP.

The next generation is not only here, they are kicking down the door. Robbie Lawler and Johny Hendricks will settle the vacant welterweight strap, Ricardo Lamas finally gets the title shot many feel he should have gotten before Korean Zombie at UFC 169, and Alexander Gustafsson punctured some holes into the unbeatable mystique of Jon Jones at UFC 165.

Thrown in the new female strawweight division and we have a little bit of a free-for-all.

]]>http://o.canada.com/sports/mma-crossfire-2014-continues-the-changing-of-the-guard-for-ufc-champions/feed22uvs6_workouts_035mmacrossfireDominick Cruz.MMA CrossfireMMA Crossfire – UPDATED WITH VIDEO – Georges St-Pierre relinquishes UFC welterweight belt, takes time offhttp://o.canada.com/sports/mma-crossfire-george-st-pierre-relinquishes-ufc-welterweight-belt-takes-time-off
http://o.canada.com/sports/mma-crossfire-george-st-pierre-relinquishes-ufc-welterweight-belt-takes-time-off#commentsFri, 13 Dec 2013 19:31:58 +0000http://o.canada.com/?p=368303]]>Georges St-Pierre won the UFC welterweight title back from Matt Serra almost 6 years ago in Montreal at UFC 83. Nothing and nobody has been able to wrestle it away from him since.

Until today.

With UFC president Dana White listening on, the Montreal native announced in a special media conference call his decision to step away from the sport, relinquishing his title in the process.

GSP is a great success story, great career and all class, happy for him. Exit on his terms. Hendricks vs Lawler is going to be insane!!

]]>http://o.canada.com/sports/mma-crossfire-george-st-pierre-relinquishes-ufc-welterweight-belt-takes-time-off/feed11George St. PierresmmacrossfireMMA CrossfireUFC 167Dana WhiteFear of failure drives UFC 167’s Georges St-Pierrehttp://o.canada.com/sports/fear-of-failure-drives-ufc-167s-georges-st-pierre
http://o.canada.com/sports/fear-of-failure-drives-ufc-167s-georges-st-pierre#commentsFri, 15 Nov 2013 00:45:09 +0000http://postmediacanadadotcom.wordpress.com/?p=348520]]>LAS VEGAS — Despite more success than all but a few athletes could ever hope or dream of, the fear of failure has never left Georges St-Pierre.

When he made his Ultimate Fighting Championship debut at UFC 46 in January 2004, he was worried that he wouldn’t be good enough to last in the big show. After winning the welterweight title, he was fearful of being a one-hit wonder. Even now, as he continues to build his legacy as perhaps the greatest mixed-martial-artist of all-time, the fear of losing, of becoming a former titleholder, of letting down his friends and family, of being just another fighter, pushes him.

That fear has been one of the driving forces behind going from the first fight on a UFC card to the main event of the company’s 20th anniversary show, where at UFC 167 on Saturday, in front of a capacity crowd at MGM Grand Garden Arena, he puts his welterweight title on the line against No. 1 contender Johny Hendricks.

MONTREAL, QUE.: AUGUST 1, 2013–Georges St-Pierre answers questions during an UFC press conference with Georges St-Pierre and Johny Hendricks to promote UFC 167, in Montreal on Thursday August 1, 2013.

“Still today I’m always worried that I’m not good enough to be the champion,” said St-Pierre (24-2) in an interview before UFC 167.

“But I work very hard and the work it takes and the perseverance make me believe in myself.”

With a victory, St-Pierre (24-2) would become the first fighter to record 19 wins in the UFC (he’s currently tied with UFC Hall of Famer Matt Hughes at 18 victories). It would also be his 12th win in a championship match, breaking a tie he currently holds with former middleweight champ Anderson Silva.

It’s a long way from his debut nearly eight years ago, when St-Pierre warmed up in a bathroom stall because he was so agitated by the antics of a few veterans on the locker-room.

UFC president Dana White calls St-Pierre a “perfect champion” who well represents the belt, the company and his country.

“It’s been an honour and a pleasure working with him over the years,” said White.

St-Pierre, currently ranked No. 2 in the UFC/FightMetric official pound-for-pound rankings behind light heavyweight champ Jon Jones, says he looks forward to one day reflecting on his accomplishments: the title wins, headlining UFC 129 in front of 56,000 fans, main eventing UFC’s 20th anniversary card on Saturday. But now is not the time.

“It’s like when you’re driving at night, you have your lights on. You only see 200 metres in front of the road because after that, it’s darkness,” said St-Pierre, who has held the title since 2008.

“It’s the same thing in my career. You only see 200 metres. The sum of the fights — the 200 metres plus the 200 metres plus the 200 metres plus the 200 metres plus the 200 metres — makes your legacy and makes you be the fighter that you are. I try to see only 200 metres in front of me and the rest will take care of itself.”

Hendricks (15-1) is widely considered the toughest challenge for St-Pierre since the Quebec native became champion. A two-time NCAA wrestling champion and four-time all-American, Hendricks has some of the most feared one-punch knockout power in the sport. He KO’d Jon Fitch in 12 seconds, Amir Sadollah in 29 seconds, Charlie Brenneman in 40 seconds, Martin Kampmann in 46 seconds, and T.J. Waldburger in 95 seconds.

“I believe in my heart I can beat him,” said Hendricks of St-Pierre.

St-Pierre respects the game of Hendricks, but is quick to point out that he has heard time and again that his latest opponent has the tools to end his title reign: Nick Diaz had the grappling and cardio, Carlos Condit had the standup and chin, Jake Shields had the jiu-jitsu. Each of his last 11 opponents has watched St-Pierre get his hand raised.

Despite St-Pierre’s gaudy resume, Hendricks insists he’s not intimidated. He learned early in his preteen wrestling days, and has carried the attitude since, that no opponent is unbeatable “as long as you think you can do it, you know what I mean?”

Hendricks, unwavering confidence in his voice, insists he’ll be the next UFC welterweight champion.

“He’s just a man. Yeah, he’s got a pedigree but so do I,” said Hendricks.

“Everybody that he’s faced, the last five fights, I’ve pretty much faced the last five fights and I’ve done it better or the same as he has … The outlook that you should (fear) him? He should be feared of me. I have nothing to lose, everything to gain. I want to be champion. He’s been champion. I want to defend that title like he has. That’s my dream. That’s my goal. That’s everything that I want, he has right now. I’m going to take it from him.”

He doesn’t mind his opponent – UFC interim bantamweight champion Renan Barao calling himself the champion because he has defended the belt and undisputed champ Dominick Cruz as been out for two years recovering from a torn ACL.

One of the keys to beating someone like Barao is constant pressure he says.

Heavyweight Brendan Schaub says he was so immature early in his career that he went to his fight with Antonio Big Nog Nogueira without a striking coach. He thought he could go in and “hogwild” Nogueira, but ended up getting knocked out. Things were different after that.

And Schaub is a big boxing fan, but thought Mayweather fight was boring.

Schaub and Matt Mitirone are friends, but he doesn’t know what will happen after the fight.

Alexander Gustafsson told MMA Crossfire he did watch the Mayweather fight and he was impressed with Mayweather’s performance. He wouldn’t mind seeing Floyd fight Manny Pacquiao.

He still thinks he can beat Jones on the outside but will go wherever the fight takes him.

All of Sweden’s major media is here in Toronto covering the event for the country.

Dana White says the myth of him blackballing people who say bad things about him and the UFC is just that, a myth. Early on, he had issues with Sherdog back in the day, because the guy behind it was selling UFC DVDs. They also weren’t media, he insists, they were business, websites. When the UFC finally got a distribution deal, the price went up and he issued Dana an ultimatum. “You can imagine how that went.”

He did ban Loretta Hunt and ESPN’s Josh Gross but other than that, who did he blackball he asks? Jake Russell’s name was mentioned and Dana said he didn’t know who he was.

White said he only goes after people who only use one side of the story and don’t check the other side.

He is happy for Matt Brown, a guy “who never complains,” about him getting some shine and facing Carlos Condit.

He hasn’t seen Rich Franklin in a while, but knows he wants one more fight. Rich is working his own business at the moment. He wises nothing but success for it.

He said TUF 17 finalist Uriah Hall thanked him for lighting a fire under him with his comments about his “flop” performances in the UFC. “Get better.”

MMA Crossfire: I have to say Alex, unboxing this book was like buying a new car or a pack of double-mint gum. It has that distinctive “new car smell.”

Alexandre Choko: (Laughs). Well, I guess we owe that to our printer, Friesens in Altona, Winnipeg. They are the best in the country. And they use acid-free products! Mind you, I paid extra for the books to be shrink-wrapped. It keeps the form, and the smell.

MMA Crossfire: You interviewed 55 all-time greats for the book. Was there anything that surprised you during the process of interviewing?

Alexandre Choko: I would say the candidness. These guys had I would say between 10 -15 journalists covering them, depending on where they’re at in their careers. They had hundreds of cameras just shooting at them. When I was with them, it was always one-on-one. In their homes, sometimes in their car, sometimes in their hotel room, or in a private section at the International Boxing Hall of Fame. And the questions I had for them was geared towards finding out where they came from. Their background, their childhood. Memories growing up. How they got started in boxing. And they were very candid. They were not asked these questions in years, if not ever. I was more than once pinching myself during these interviews.

MMA Crossfire: Did you have any particular ones that you felt like, ‘Wow, I can’t believe I got this guy?’

Alexandre Choko: Yes, many times. Mike Tyson. You can’t just knock on his door and get an interview. Oscar De La Hoya, who took me 4 years to actually nail it. George Foreman. Gosh, leaving his place, I remember he is a very intimidating man. But out of all, I think the ones I think I had the best bonding with – and actually I was with him a week and a half ago – and five minutes into the conversation while he was browsing through the pages for the first time, I said, ‘Ray, Can you do me a favor? Can you pinch me? I’ve been pinching myself for five years but now the book exists.” and he started laughing, asking why. I said, ‘Ray, this surreal. I’ve been to your house. You’ve granted me an interview that I will cherish for the rest of my life and now we’re sitting down and discussing ideas on how we can go out there and promote the book. This is unreal. You’re the reason why I love boxing.’ So those moments truly… Have you ever met Oprah?

MMA Crossfire: I haven’t met her personally, no.

Alexandre Choko: Is she someone you would like to meet someday?

MMA Crossfire: Absolutely.

Alexandre Choko: So imagine you’re having a conversation with Oprah and then she tells you, ‘Why don’t we continue this tomorrow over lunch?’ and then you’re like, ‘Are you for real?’ (Laughs). These guys are my heroes.

MMA Crossfire: So you were a boxing fan from the get-go.

Alexandre Choko: I was a boxing fan at an early age. My grandfather still lives in France and will be 90 in April. He survived the war, is from a Jewish-Polish background and fought at an early age. He always loved boxing and he introduced me to the old-timers and learning how things were done back in the day when champions fought three times in two months. Now they fight twice a year. And one thing led to another; basically I was given by my parents a punching bag when I was 8 years of age. I started judo at 5. I really got into it when I was 14. I must have rented Sugar Ray Leonard’s fight againstMarvin Hagler. Back in the days, it was simple VHS; we would rent at the store. The fight went down in 1987 and by the time I got my hands on the VHS, it was 1988. And my passion just kept on growing. I never thought I would I would own a gym one day or fight myself, but yeah.

MMA Crossfire: It is amazing how you went on to create Tristar and all of that…

Alexandre Choko: I can’t take credit for creating Tristar though; it already existed. I joined in 1992, created in 1991 by Conrad Pla, Michel Lavallée and Ron Di Ciecco [who were owners with Pla for a very short time]. Three guys, that’s why it was called Tristar. I joined in 1992 but I purchased in 2001. But I created what it is now.

MMA Crossfire: Right, the Tristar that we know.

Alexandre Choko: Exactly, with the extension. When I bought it, people would not take their shower there. I hate to say it, but it was a dump, you know. Which is fine, for fighting gyms. I’ve been to lots of places where taking a shower was a challenge and-a-half. But my goal was to make it accessible to more than just the tough guys. The Tristar that you know now is something that I’m really proud of.

Georges St-Pierre, left, squares off with Carlos Condit following a news conference in Montreal, Thursday, September 27, 2012, where they announced their upcoming UFC 154 fight which will take place in Montreal on November 17. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Ryan Remiorz.

Alexandre Choko: You have to understand something. While I was the owner of Tristar, one of the responsibilities I imposed on myself was to create the best environment possible for these guys to do whatever they wanted to do. Whether it was a 5-year-old kid coming in for karate, to a kid that wanted to take boxing to become more confident in himself, or a lady taking Kendo, or a kid coming in with no money wanting to learn grappling because they think they have a shot at something – and the kid is Georges St-Pierre. As I said, my responsibility was to really make sure under one roof, everybody was treated equally and everybody would get a chance to accomplish what they wanted to do.

Am I still keeping on top of things as much as I used to when I was at Tristar? No. You can’t be good at everything. My passion is boxing, and I truly focus on being in boxing. Do I still want Georges to do well? Absolutely. Was I with the vice-president of UFC two and a half weeks ago in Las Vegas? Yes. Because, when you open the book and the first thing you see is all the collection of tickets in the inside cover. Do you see it?

MMA Crossfire: I do.

Alexandre Choko: Well, that collection belongs to Marc Ratner and he was the Las Vegas commissioner for 20 years. He was hired by the UFC to become their vice-president and to open up these markets. So Marc and I, we worked together and we’re boxing fans. That’s what solidified the relationship…

MMA Crossfire: Fight capital of the world…

Alexandre Choko: Exactly and it is the capital of the world of boxing in Las Vegas. With that being said, I don’t know who Georges is fighting in November (Carlos Condit). I know he is fighting in Montreal. I really hope that’s he gonna be impressive making his comeback. It’s a show. Everybody forgets that entertainment is the most important thing in the fighting game.

MMA Crossfire: Exactly, that’s what it says in the introduction of the book. It’s not just the skills, but the ability to make things exciting.

Alexandre Choko: Yes, absolutely.

MMA Crossfire: So what is the thing about the book that you’re most proud of?

Alexandre Choko: The first sentence that was going to come out of my mouth was ‘everything’ (Laughs). Seriously, it’s only 2-3 weeks that we have it in our hands. I see people flipping through the pages, oohing and aahing. Great. I went through actually 17,000 images just to choose the cover.

MMA Crossfire: Fascinating.

Alexandre Choko: Yeah. And hundreds of thousands of images to select the 600 pictures that are in the book.

MMA Crossfire: So what is it about this picture that made you choose it for the cover?

Alexandre Choko: It’s a fighter going to the ring. Everybody’s looking at him. It’s a very important moment in boxing; it’s the entrance. The person who watches this picture does not know who it is. We’re all waiting. And that’s what the future of boxing is. At this moment, there are very important things that I think need to be done in boxing, but a lot of people are on their toes, waiting for them to happen. Understand? And the viewer – the fans who stands where we stand when we look at the book, don’t know the fighter. I like the sentence Lennox Lewis said: Boxers are like volcanoes. We’re just waiting for the next eruption. Isn’t that great? To answer your question, when I thought of it, I think this book is unique. It has never been done before. Never someone – and my wife was polite not to say it out loud – was crazy enough to put everything on the line. Sell his car, mortgage his house, sell his gym. To be able to meet all these greats, but to go to the end of the journey and to actually produce the book he said he was going to produce. I hate to talk about myself in the third person. I feel like I’m in a Seinfeld episode (Laughs). The truth: Many many times I said it to myself: I owe it to them. I’m not even supposed to be on this earth when you think of it. My grandmother is a survivor of Auschwitz-Birkenau. I’m not supposed to be here, that’s the honest truth. When you think of that, you say, ‘Well you know what? While I’m here, how about I give it a shot? I’ll just go to the end.’ A great human being said, ‘He who is not courageous enough to take risk, will accomplish nothing in life.’ And that fellow is Muhammad Ali.

MMA Crossfire: I see.

Alexandre Choko: So I have to say I’m really proud we have a great book. Because not only do I think it’s going to help boxing – if decision makers are nice enough to read it and actually take notes and take action. But I also believe that a lot of the things that these greats were kind enough to share with us and whoever will be smart enough to read the book. I think there’s a lot of people who will read the book even if they don’t like boxing. I take the example of Oprah that I asked you earlier. Put this book in front of Oprah and she’ll say, ‘You know what? There’ some really interesting life sections in here.’ And I think any student of human nature can learn from this.

MMA Crossfire: I think that’s one of the main characteristics of the book. It invites the reader to check out the book in a friendly way.

Alexandre Choko: And you’re right. I’m not in the business of making anybody look bad. Some guys cook everything for themselves like Don King and just turn their back on the future of boxing. And if you look at the page of Don King… do you have the book in front of you?

MMA Crossfire: Yes.

Alexandre Choko: If you go to Don King’s page (pg. 160). Look at the picture.

MMA Crossfire: (Laughs). There he is.

Alexandre Choko: That represents him. Cooked everything for him and he’s turned around and this is what he’s leaving us with. His big happy face on his jean jacket. And boxing is hurting in some ways because of that attitude. Can we learn from this? Absolutely. If you give too much power to one man, unfortunately, history has proven that he will have a tendency to use it in a bad way.

MMA Crossfire: So I guess MMA would be wise to pay heed to this sort of thing.

Alexandre Choko: Well, MMA is actually doing well because everything is under one umbrella. If you talk to the fighters, they’re going to say they’re super-super happy to be part of the organization, but they all should be making more money. That being said, I’m pretty sure that in the near future – like in the next 3 to 5 years – there will be a better equilibrium between the sharing of the revenues.

Don’t forget that the UFC owners Zuffa took a humongous risk back in the days. They bought the business for a million bucks but they sunk about $40 million to I think $100 million before they started seeing black. That being said, to this day they continue to invest a lot of money into their sport. Boxing, that’s not necessarily the case. Only recently you have other smaller promoters who are trying to reinvest into the sport. You don’t know who’s first, who’s second, even for people in the industry, it’s very hard to follow. Where, you ask anybody on earth who follows the UFC and you ask them who’s the best fighter pound-for-pound, three names are going to come up. It’s [Anderson] Silva, or Georges when he’s on top of his game. Boxing , UFC and [pro]wrestling have a lot to learn from each other, but I think they have to think outside of the box. Learn from other sports that are not necessarily fighting-oriented. I don’t know if you had a chance to get to my conclusion which I call ‘The Next Round,’ but I believe that sports like the NFL, tennis, hockey, Formula One and golf can have a positive influence on the decision-makers for a sport like boxing.

MMA Crossfire: Those are all very successful and viable sports and they continue to sometimes begrudgingly, but for the most part they continue to look for ways to keep themselves relevant.

Alexandre Choko: Exactly. They continuously re-invest in their sport. And the truth is, when you win that Super Bowl, you’re on top. There’s no one better than you in the world at that moment in time. And typically in boxing and the UFC you’ll have a champion, the guy loses, they come back in three months after and regains his championship, which is cool. You can’t always win; that’s impossible if you fight the best. If you don’t fight the best, you’ll win all the time but… I always take the example… Take the best tennis player in the world, let’s take [Roger] Federer. Take him out, make him play just in the United States for three years. He’s going to win every single tournament. Then bring him back to Wimbledon and he won’t be able to return a serve, because he will have not played against the best players in the world. The same applies to boxing. I think that there’s a funny expression in boxing: The 0 has to go. If the 0 still exists after you fight the best, then great! That’s one thing they do really well in UFC, but they do it because they control the fighters. They’re capable of saying, “Georges, you know what? You’re fighting Matt Hughes again. You’re fighting B.J. Penn again.’ He can’t say no. He can’t go to another organization and fight someone else. You see what I mean?

MMA Crossfire: They do seem to have better structural control.

Alexandre Choko: Because they apply the same recipe as I mentioned as they do in hockey. If you watch the Maple Leafs… people go see them because they love the team. And those poor guys they haven’t won.. When was the last time they won?

MMA Crossfire: There should be a criminal inquiry into the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Alexandre Choko: (Laughs) Why is that?

MMA Crossfire: Because they haven’t won in 45 years and Toronto is the only town who will accept a loser for 45 years, yet pay top dollar every year and say, ‘Go Leafs Go!’

Alexandre Choko: (Laughs). But it’s a good example if people love the sport, they’ll go see it even if your home team doesn’t win. If you have a favourite fighter like Arturo Gatti, or Mickey Ward, guys who went through wars. They don’t win all the time. OK, big deal. But man, you know you’re going to get a good fight every time you watch them. Those are the things that I think are needed in boxing. The level has to be raised, not lowered.

MMA Crossfire: You said you are an amateur, but in reading your background, you were into things for a long time as a trainer. Let’s go back to those training days for a moment. When did the idea for the book pop into your head.

Alexandre Choko: I became a trainer because Conrad, who at the time was the sole owner of Tristar, needed a replacement for a kickboxing class and I was in his class and he knew I was good with people. So he asked me to replace him. He said, ‘You can teach the class. You’ve been doing it for so long, you know it by heart.’ OK. Both of my parents are academics. They went into university and never came out. And I actually went to good schools, but I didn’t do so well (Laughs) because I was more interested in doing business and being out there hustling and doing things in a constructive way. I normally always do what I say I’m going to do. To answer your question, back in 2004, I’m at Tristar gym. (married?) I’m three years into my own co-ownership at the gym. I had at the time, promoted maybe 50 boxing shows, kickboxing shows, “Tough Man” contests. I did it all. Legal, illegal, whatever. I started tapping into… To get my license to promote professional fights, I was obliged to go in front of the jury here in Montreal at the city court and say on oath that I would no longer hold my boxing fight nights because they were actually illegal. They were in a grey zone. I was taking you and your cousin and putting you in the ring, and saying, ‘OK, Give it your best.’ And the crowd, with all your family and friends, were deciding who gave the best show. You would go home with a tape and T-shirt saying ‘Champion.’ So that being said, when I wanted to do pro boxing they said, ‘You gotta say no more to this and we’ll give you your license,’ which I did.

So back in 2004 I had already started [my pro shows]. I married my sweetheart Sandy Martinez the March before. But I realized very fast that I could not do what I wanted to do in this field without having the proper network. And I’m being very honest. I say it in the book. I confess; one of the main reasons why I started doing this book was to meet the greats. I figured if I could meet them, and if these guys can know me for more than a half an hour, hopefully they’ll like and remember me, and when it comes time to do bigger things in the field, they’ll be receptive. You know? So I wrote the list of questions in 2004, and I registered with the Writers Guild of Canada. I remember talking with one of my best friends, Eloise Gratton, who’s a lawyer, and was working on a book. I said, ‘You know what? I’m going to do a book too.’ My father has written books, my grandfather has written books and so on. I thought, ‘OK, I’m just going to start; I have the funds to start. Let’s do it. Believe it or not, it took me more than two years to actually find the anchor on how I would meet these people. Because having the idea to meet them is one thing, but getting their phone numbers and the address and talking to them. And most importantly, having them grant you an interview that is worth $15,000 to $100,000 because every interview is filmed for the contents on the DVD. And keep in mind, not being able to pay them was it was worth. It was like mission impossible. Was their time where I doubted and said, ‘How am I going to do this? Yes. But I managed to nail an important relationship and deal with the International Boxing Hall of Fame in the fall of 2006. It was only in January in 2007 that the first interview was conducted. So this is almost three years after having the idea and registering the questions with the writer’s guild and the title The Future of Boxing. It’s true; it took a little over 5 years to conduct the interview. But altogether between having the idea, 2004, and having the book in our hands, 2012, it’s 8 years. Was there some times during that process where I doubted? Yes! Of course! I’d be lying when you go to your naturopath and he tells you your back is cracking because your heart is pumping too much because you have money worries and so on. This is reality. But this the only way you can accomplish something. Unless you won the lottery or have very rich parents or wife or whoever is going to fund everything you want to do. That was not my case.

MMA Crossfire: Have the fighters seen the finished product? What were their reactions?

Alexandre Choko: Oh man, that’s a nice question. Well, yes, five of them. I was in Las Vegas as I mentioned to received the book and meet a couple of people there. The first fighter that I actually gave the book to I will remember for the rest of my life because not is he only part of the book but he is one of the greatest fighters of all-time and he’s still alive. Roberto Duran…

Alexandre Choko: Who has lost a ton of weight, 40 or 50 pounds since we did the interview. Looks great. He speaks Spanish and believe it or not, he never speaks English. He never speaks English. He started speaking English to me: ’Man this is good! I want to come to Montreal. I was like, ‘You rat! You said you didn’t speak English!’ (Laughs) But I knew he spoke English. And we took a picture and was really happy. Then two weeks went by there was another event; the WBC [World Boxing Council] was raising funds with those Hugo watches and then invited twelve champions and ten showed up. The WBC offered the book to all those champions. So they had a little ribbon. You know the WBC green belt? We customized a version and there was a green belt around the book and it said ‘Please accept this present from us.’ So they wanted to offer it on their behalf. They purchased those books from me and so everybody got one. Then later, I brought a copy of me at the actual event. I have a picture with George Foreman… Some said, ‘Are you crazy? Why are you selling it for such a low price?’ It was funny. Foreman was in awe. His son came to get me.. Because some of these interviews I did them 3 years ago, 4 years ago, 5 years ago and they probably thought I was hit by a car or something (Laughs).I never thought I was going to have to self-publish this book. At some point, I had an important conversation with the owner of Firefly [Lionel Koffler], a big publisher in Canada. He said, ‘You know what? The business model of the book industry is really bad in America. You’re catering to such a niche market and you have such appeal to a wider market. Why don’t you publish it yourself? You’ll be able to put all the pictures you want, the design you want, the shape you want.’ I said, ‘Lionel, Thank You.’ He’s the publisher of my father for that Canadian Pacific book. I appreciate a man instead of trying to pull the carpet on his side, decided to give me the right counsel and made sure that it would be good for everybody.

MMA Crossfire: And I guess the rest became history.

Alexandre Choko: And the rest… yes, exactly. Now we have to sell a lot. Putting together a book like this… If Sports Illustrated came to us tomorrow morning and say, ‘We want the same book, same names, same pictures, same content and same videos,’ it would cost $1.5 million.

MMA Crossfire: $1.5 million.

Alexandre Choko: Yeah.

MMA Crossfire: I don’t doubt it though. The book is high quality and the pictures you have in the book are hard to find.

Alexandre Choko: You’re right. There is a lot of effort put into finding the right images that are not only boxing but that were human.

MMA Crossfire: They tell the fighter’s story.

Alexandre Choko: Right It was every important to find images that were… I don’t want to say not seen before. There are lots of them that were not seen before… Also

I don’t know if you noticed but throughout the book there is a CMS color which is that silver finish. We really played with that; when we have those full pages like George Chuvalo on page 76…

MMA Crossfire: Right.

Alexandre Choko: But yeah, the reaction overall. They loved the way we treated their family. Mike Tyson has been covered more than you can possibly imagine. Sugar Ray Leonard too. They see the book and they get all excited. I’m like, ‘Yes!’

MMA Crossfire: Look at you with Sugar Ray. They say a picture is worth a thousand words… And you with George Foreman… I don’t think I’ve seen a smile on George that big since the George Foreman grill.

Alexandre Choko: This was in the Bellagio in Vegas. Like I said, last week Hugo watches were auctioned to the crowd that was there. I think they paid like $1000 per person to be with these champions and they raised a million dollars, 12 watches. And that money was used to create a fund to help retired fighters with their rent and so on because some of these guys they make millions of dollars but they spend twice as much.

MMA Crossfire: I think not only the casual fans would fall in love with the book but I think a lot of boxing and MMA fans… and even professional wrestling because pro wrestling fans are big boxing fans too…

Alexandre Choko: I swear to you. And two years ago, I said, ‘Louis, I want to interview Vince because I want to hear what he thinks. I need a villain in this book.’ Apparently every time they go to a event they have those offices. So he’s eating his meal. He just received a big meal. And Luis comes to the office. He knocks and says, ‘Can I come in?’ And I had a mockup of the book – maybe 20 pages just to show the design. It was about a year ago. Vince shoves aside his meal – Luis describes this way better than I do. He tosses it aside and says, ‘This is nice stuff!’ or something like that. He completely disregarded his meal and flipped through the pages, reading through the whole thing. He asked Luis my friend if I was willing to do the same thing on wrestling.

Alexandre Choko: I don’t know the reaction; I don’t know if he liked it or not… Did you see the competition page in the book or not yet?

MMA Crossfire: Not yet.

Alexandre Choko: I’ll invite you to flip through because it was very important for me to approach the world around the sport. So I talk about the gyms, the equipment, the sanctioning bodies, the boxing venues and those things because those are important matters.

MMA Crossfire: Yes, I see.

Alexandre Choko: For every one of them I say what it is and where I think it should be going. And on very last part, which is page 300 and 301, I talk about the competition. Remember The Godfather, the movie where Don Corleone when he says, ‘Keep your friends close and your enemies close.’

MMA Crossfire Yes, there it is (Laughs).

Alexandre Choko: That’s why I was referring earlier to sports within the fighting industry and we neglected to mention K-1. And at the time there was another sport in Japan that was very popular that got purchased by the UFC and now they just shut it down.

MMA Crossfire: PRIDE.

Alexandre Choko: PRIDE, exactly. But those sports, you have to learn from them, because sometimes they get more creative than you do, at showcasing the actual activity. And one the guys that is doing that right now is Todd duBoef, the president of Top Rank. Bob Arum’s son-in-law. He’s very close to the Fertitta’s because they went to school together in Las Vegas. And I don’t want to say he copies, but he often inquires himself on what the UFC is doing.

MMA Crossfire: I see.

Alexandre Choko: Did you know I talk about more than 750 human beings in the book. I had somebody count them.

MMA Crossfire: I don’t doubt it. This book is quite beefy.

Alexandre Choko: (Laughs).

MMA Crossfire: On a bit of a somber note, one the interviews is with famed trainer Emanuel Steward, who recently passed away. What were your thoughts on him and the interview?

Alexandre Choko: I met Emanuel the first time in 2007. He kindly granted me the interview for our Future of Boxing book at the Paris hotel of Las Vegas. At first he was very distant and obviously testing me, but when he understood my intentions and goals, we really hit it off and actually became friends.

We saw each other every year at the International Boxing Hall of Fame induction ceremony after that and then, in 2010, he was in Montreal and spent a Sunday with me. We came to Little Italy where I lived with my wife and 1-year-old daughter Jolie.

At our condo, Emanuel said that he had never met such a special young princess with beautiful blue eyes. Insisting that she had an old soul! Amazed at the fact that, after an incident, I reanimated her when she was only 6-weeks-old.

We had a nice meal together and I drove him back to his hotel, in a nice English convertible car that he liked a lot. He truly enjoyed the day and valued all the hard work I was putting into realizing the book.

I had tears in my eyes when I found out. I had tried to find a way to get the book to him couple of weeks ago, but no one was getting back to me. Only Larry Merchant, who left me a message saying that Emanuel was really not well. I will always be grateful for his friendship and his precious advice.

MMA Crossfire: We appreciate you taking the time to chat with us today Alex.

Alexandre Choko: Thanks very much, Kenai.

Alexandre Choko is the former owner of Montreal’s Tristar Gym and the author of The Future of Boxing.

Note: MMA Crossfire is pleased to offer the following coupon codes to its readers:

Use “Postmedia2012” to save over 40% off the regular book price ($75)

Use “Postmedia2012DVD” to save over 35% off the regular book + DVD price ($100).

Wiseman: As I expected, the takedown defence and powerful striking of Tavares gave Bubba real problems. Bubba didn’t start fast enough and was defending for the majority of the first two rounds. In the final round he was able to turn things up and scored a takedown, but wasn’t able to do anything from top position because of the guard of Tavares. His key to success were his kicks. He was able to mess up the leg of Bubba early in the fight and it kept Bubba outside of the pocket until round 3. Tavares, as expected, showed high level striking and held his own against a high level grappler.

Takeya Mizugaki (L) reacts after his victory over Erik Perez (R) in their bantamweight fight at UFC Fight Night in Indianapolis. — with Takeya Mizugaki and Goyito perez at Bankers Life Fieldhouse.

WINNER: TAKEYA MIZUGAKI VIA SPLIT DECISION.

Wiseman: It was a war from start to finish. From cardio to a great chin, these fighters put on a show. Perez started from the beginnings, but Mizugaki started really unloading in the second round. The final round had both fighters unloading and scoring takedowns. However, it was the countering ability of Mizugaki throughout the second and third that scored him the win.

(L-R) Court McGee punches Robert Whittaker in their welterweight fight at UFC Fight Night in Indianapolis. — with Court McGee Fan Page and Robert Whittaker MMA at Bankers Life Fieldhouse.

WINNER: COURT MCGEE VIA SPLIT DECISION

Wiseman: The winning key for McGee in this match was the incredibly fast pace and his constant flurry of strikes. He was able to mix levels well and pushed forward for 15 minutes. Whittaker found success in short elbows during the second round, but McGee just buried him in significant strikes landed. It turned out to be a split decision win because Whittaker did put on a show, especially with the short elbows, but McGee landed an outstanding amount of strikes which made it an obvious unanimous win in my opinion.

KELVIN GASTELUM VS BRIAN MELANCON

Kelvin Gastelum reacts after his submission victory over Brian Melancon in their welterweight bout.

WINNER: KELVIN GASTELUM VIA REAR NAKED CHOKE SUBMISSION.

Wiseman: Gastelum started the fight showing better striking and movement than we have seen before. He showed power by rocking Melancon, his wrestling with two takedowns, and his submission game by winning via rear-naked choke. Melancon came into this fight with people talking about his heavy hands, but Gastelum showed while on TUF that he is a working with loads of heart and talent. Tonight, he showed exactly that.

Wiseman: Cerrone is known for starting slow, but it just took too long in this match. He came out and showed good combinations, but all it took was for dos Anjos to connect with a right hook for Cerrone to slow down with the pressure. os Anjos earned the respect of Cerrone at that point, as well as the position of dominance. Cerrone started picking it up in the final minutes of the third round, but Dos Anjos had already done enough for the decision win. Cerrone needed to let his striking go earlier. He fought too reserved and it cost him the fight.

R-L) Carlos Condit punches Martin Kampmann in their welterweight fight at UFC Fight Night at Bankers Life Field House in Indianapolis.

WINNER: CARLOS CONDIT VIA 4TH ROUND TKO

Wiseman: Kampmann came out doing exactly what he needed to do, go for takedowns. The mistake that he made was that he started striking with Condit. From round two until the end of the match Kampmann stopped setting up his takedowns properly and he allowed there to be distance. The first time they fought he kept the distance under control which is how he won the match. Giving distance with a striker like Condit is a huge mistake for anyone.

INDIANAPOLIS, IN – AUGUST 27: (L-R) Opponents Brad Tavares and Bubba McDaniel face off during the UFC weigh-in event at Bankers Life Fieldhouse on August 27, 2013 in Indianapolis, Indiana.

Wiseman: Wrestling is key for both of these fighters. McDaniels is a submission wrestler, but he struggles when on the bottom. Tavares doesn’t have a submission game, but uses his striking to get takedowns. McDaniels will fight long, but Tavares has the power advantage so he will be able to get in top position for ground-and-pound. Bubba doesn’t have the best chin and with the weaknesses he does have, Tavares will be able to shine.

INDIANAPOLIS, IN – AUGUST 27: (L-R) Opponents Court McGee and Robert Whittaker face off during the UFC weigh-in event at Bankers Life Fieldhouse on August 27, 2013 in Indianapolis, Indiana.

Wiseman: Cardio, aggression, and wrestling will be problems for Whittaker. Whittaker is the more technical striker, but McGee has improved in his standup and learned how to use his length. Inaddition, the ability of McGee to close distance and use his wrestling will take away Whittaker’s ability to strike.

Wiseman Prediction: “The Crusher” Court McGee via decision.

INDIANAPOLIS, IN – AUGUST 27: (L-R) Opponents Kelvin Gastelum and Brian Melancon face off during the UFC weigh-in event at Bankers Life Fieldhouse on August 27, 2013 in Indianapolis, Indiana.

KELVIN GASTELUM (7-0-0) VS BRIAN MELANCON (7-2-0)

Wiseman: Gastelum making is his welterweight debut, but that doesn’t mean that Melancon is going to have an easy go of it. Each fighter is well-rounded, but Gastelum has the edge in cardio, aggression, and wrestling which will allow him to enforce his game plan.

INDIANAPOLIS, IN – AUGUST 27: (L-R) Opponents Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone and Rafael dos Anjos face off during the UFC weigh-in event at Bankers Life Fieldhouse on August 27, 2013 in Indianapolis, Indiana.

Wiseman: Both fighters can handle themselves when it comes to the ground game. In the standup game, Cerrone has the edge. He is known to be a slow starter, but that will challenge the cardio of dos Anjos who will be the aggressor early. Cerrone is also known for falling into the game of his opponents, but this is something that he has definitely improved upon in his recent fights. Regardless, Cerrone has the versatility edge over Dos Anjos and will make this an interesting fight.

INDIANAPOLIS, IN – AUGUST 27: (L-R) Opponents Carlos Condit and Martin Kampmann face off during the UFC weigh-in event at Bankers Life Fieldhouse on August 27, 2013 in Indianapolis, Indiana.

Wiseman: When it comes to standup, Condit has the advantage, but Condit’s biggest weakness which has resulted in his previous two losses is his takedown defence. In their first match, it was the takedowns of Kampmann that gave him the fight especially in the third round. Over the past few years since they’ve fought both fighters have improved, but it’s the takedown defense of Condit that is his biggest downfall and it will definitely be exposed again.

Also Tuesday, sixth-ranked lightweight Donald (Cowboy) Cerrone weighed in at 156 pounds, a half-pound more than Brazilian opponent Rafael dos Anjos, ranked 10th. As is his tradition, Cerrone walked on stage in cowboy hat, boots and with an impressive buckle holding up his jeans.

Bantamweight Erik (Goyito) Perez made the most colourful entrance, wielding a Mexican flag and wearing a wrestling mask as he weighed in for his bout against Japan’s Takeya Mizugaki, who seemed amused by his opponent’s antics. Both men weighed in at 135.5 pounds, with Perez looking somewhat gaunt.

The weigh-in went without incident although matchmaker Joe Silva, in the role of peacemaker normally played by the absent UFC president Dana White, kept a close eye on lightweights Abel (Killa) Trujillo and (Relentless) Roger Bowling and welterweights Benny (Blanco) Alloway and Zak Cummings. Both pairings essentially touched foreheads as they moved closer and closer during their pose.

Kelvin Gastelum, winner of Season 17 of “The Ultimate Fighter” looked in good shape as he prepared to make his first appearance as welterweight against Brian Melancon after dropping down from middleweight.

All the fighters made weight, with former UFC welterweight Chris (Lights Out) Lytle and heavyweight Sean (Big Sexy) McCorkle in the audience.

Cassie is a mixed martial artist with over five years of study. Training primarily in South Korea, she has black belts in Taekwondo, Hapkido, and Muay Thai kickboxing. A proud Canadian from Roberts Arm, Newfoundland, she files for The Crossfire having recently returned from South Korea. She also blogs for Postmedia Networks’ Womens Fight Club website.. Image courtesy Steve Bartlett

SEATTLE, WA – JULY 26: Opponents Liz Carmouche (L) and Jessica Andrade face off during the official UFC on FOX weigh-in at Key Arena on July 26, 2013 in Seattle, Washington.

Wiseman: When it comes to number of fights Andrade has the advantage, but Carmouche has done battle with the best. Andrade has a solid ground game and has been working hard on her striking, so she will make it an entertaining fight. Carmouche is aggressive matched with skill and it’s this level of aggression, which will put Andrade on the defense early. Carmouche will use her in-and-out of the pocket striking to set up and takedown, then use ground-and-pound.

SEATTLE, WA – JULY 26: Opponents Robbie Lawler (L) and Bobby Voelker face off during the official UFC on FOX weigh-in at Key Arena on July 26, 2013 in Seattle, Washington.

Wiseman: Don’t blink because this fight won’t last long. These guys pack an extreme amount of power. Lawler has the edge because of a few factors. First, he has great takedowns and takedown defense which means he will be able to dictate where the fight takes place. Secondly, Voelker took this fight on short notice. I predict Lawler standing for awhile, but since Voelker’s strength is his striking he will shoot for a takedown when he feels the power of Voelker.

SEATTLE, WA – JULY 26: Opponents Rory MacDonald (L) and Jake Ellenberger face off during the official UFC on FOX weigh-in at Key Arena on July 26, 2013 in Seattle, Washington.

Wiseman: MacDonald has been out for almost a year due to injury, so that is something to keep in mind. But he is young and has been training with Chris Weidman and GSP. MacDonald will want to use standup to keep Ellenberger at a distance and do damage to Ellenberger’s legs. Try to rough him up and wear him down in the first, then go for a takedown in the second. We know that MacDonald has a good ground game versus Ellenberger who prefers to be in top position, so MacDonald will be able to use his ground-and-pound to do damage. The Juggernaut has the clear power advantage. While MacDonald is more decorative with his standup, Ellenberger has speed and aggression combined with power that has lead him to victory time and time again. Ellenberger will want to throw strikes to set up a takedown early, use ground-and-pound to do damage and not give MacDonald time to get his game plan going. Ellenberger has been known to tire out, so he will want to act quickly. What I see happening is MacDonald doing exactly what I said above, but maybe even in the first round instead of the second. Since the Carlos Condit fight, MacDonald has been a different fighter who seems to have a “MacDonald smash” mentality. Ellenberger on the bottom of a wrecking machine is what I predict.

SEATTLE, WA – JULY 26: Demetrious Johnson (L) and John Moraga face off during the official UFC on FOX weigh-in at Key Arena on July 26, 2013 in Seattle, Washington. (Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images)

Wiseman: One of the key things that Johnson is known for is his speed. In his title defense against John Dodson, people were likely to miss parts of the fight trying to keep up with them. Johnson has more tools though that will give Moraga a run for his money. Johnson has fought higher caliber competition, he is able to mix levels and shoots often for takedowns, but he has also experienced five round competition. Moraga has the power advantage, but this is the first time that he has ever made it on the main card. Prior to FOX 8 he has only fought twice with the UFC and those fights appeared on the Facebook fights. To go from that noise and rush to the main event with a belt on the line would be hard for most fighters to deal with. Moraga also hasn’t fought the level of opponents that Johnson has, nor has he gone the distance. With all that into consideration, I have Johnson pulling off his 8th decision win.

]]>http://o.canada.com/sports/mma-crossfire-ufc-on-fox-8-johnson-vs-moraga-predictions/feed1UFConFOX8_weighins_50mmacrossfireMMA Crossfire Cassie is a mixed martial artist with over five years of study. Training primarily in South Korea, she has black belts in Taekwondo, Hapkido, and Muay Thai kickboxing. A proud Canadian from Roberts Arm, Newfoundland, she files for The Crossfire having recently returned from South Korea. She also blogs for Postmedia Networks’ Womens Fight Club website.. Image courtesy Steve BartlettUFC on FOX 8UFC on FOX 8UFC on FOX 8UFC on FOX 8UFC on FOX 8MMA Crossfire – UFC 162 fight week full schedulehttp://o.canada.com/sports/mma-crossfire-ufc-162-fight-week-full-schedule
http://o.canada.com/sports/mma-crossfire-ufc-162-fight-week-full-schedule#commentsWed, 03 Jul 2013 00:03:24 +0000http://o.canada.com/?p=274637]]>It’s fight week!

Anderson Silva and Chris Weidman will tangle in Las Vegas Saturday and the UFC unveiled the events that will be unfolding during Fight Week.

It includes open gym workouts of course, and a chance for fans of all ages to mingle with their favourite fighters.

Representatives from Zappos and the UFC including UFC Hall of FamerForrest Griffin, and fighters Carlos Condit, Urijah Faber, Phil Davis, Luke Rockhold,Joseph Benavidez and Daniel Cormier will provide shoes to children from Boys Town Nevada.

*Closed to public; Media invited to attend.

LAS VEGAS, NV – JULY 5: Anderson Silva works out for the fans and media during the UFC 148 Open Workouts inside XS nightclub at the Encore on July 5, 2012 in Las Vegas, Nevada

UFC fighters and Octagon Girls will sign autographs and take photos with fans at locations on Fremont Street experience. Appearances are listed at UFC.com/FightWeek.

*Free and open to public.

8:30 p.m. Three Days Grace concert, presented by Bud Light®

Fremont Street Experience, 425 Fremont Street

UFC light heavyweight Chael Sonnen will kick off a free concert for fans under the Viva Vision canopy at Fremont Street Experience.

*Free and open to public.

Friday, July 5

10 a.m. UFC Fan Expo

Mandalay Bay Convention Center, 3950 S Las Vegas Blvd.

Activities at the two-day UFC Fan Expo include Q&A sessions with fighters and talent, autograph and photo sessions, grappling competitions and vendor booths. A complete schedule of main stage activities and fighter autograph and photo sessions is available at UFCFanExpo.com.

*Tickets are available for purchase at any Venetian | Palazzo Box Office or by phone at 702.414.9000 or at UFC.com/FightWeek.

Saturday, July 6

10 a.m. UFC Fan Expo

Mandalay Bay Convention Center, 3950 S Las Vegas Blvd.

Activities at the two-day UFC Fan Expo include Q&A sessions with fighters and talent, autograph and photo sessions, grappling competitions and vendor booths. A complete schedule of main stage activities and fighter autograph and photo sessions is available at UFCFanExpo.com. A special UFC Hall of Fame induction for Forrest Griffin and Stephan Bonnar will take place at 11 a.m. on Saturday, July 6.

]]>http://o.canada.com/sports/mma-crossfire-ufc-162-fight-week-full-schedule/feed0ufc fight weekmmacrossfireMMA Crossfire UFC 162LAS VEGAS, NV - JULY 5: Anderson Silva works out for the fans and media during the UFC 148 Open Workouts inside XS nightclub at the Encore on July 5, 2012 in Las Vegas, NevadaUFC on FOX 2: Evans v DavisGSP to face Hendricks in November in Las Vegashttp://o.canada.com/sports/gsp-to-face-hendricks-in-november-in-las-vegas
http://o.canada.com/sports/gsp-to-face-hendricks-in-november-in-las-vegas#commentsWed, 19 Jun 2013 20:22:31 +0000http://postmediacanadadotcom.wordpress.com/?p=267476]]>Georges St-Pierre will defend his UFC welterweight title on Nov. 16 in Las Vegas against No. 1 contender Johny (Bigg Rigg) Hendricks.

UFC president Dana White confirmed the details in a text to The Canadian Press.

The 32-year-old from Montreal has defended his 170-pound mixed martial arts championship eight times since winning it back from Matt (The Terror) Serra at UFC 83 in Montreal in April 2008.

Most recently, St-Pierre (24-2) won a unanimous decision over Nick Diaz in March at UFC 158. The champion has won 11 straight fights dating back to April 2007.

The hard-hitting Hendricks (15-1) has won six in a row since losing to Rick (The Horror) Story in December 2010. His last outing was a unanimous decision over Carlos (Natural Born Killer) Condit at UFC 158.

The November card is expected to be UFC 167 and could serve as an anniversary show. The UFC made its debut on Nov. 12, 1993.

GSP is no stranger to milestones. He beat Thiago Alves on UFC 100 in July 2009.

]]>http://o.canada.com/sports/gsp-to-face-hendricks-in-november-in-las-vegas/feed0UFC158_12_GSP_Diaz_83.jpgthecanadianpressYoung Canadian welterweights recall first fight, could meet again in UFChttp://o.canada.com/sports/young-canadian-welterweights-recall-first-fight-could-meet-again-in-ufc
http://o.canada.com/sports/young-canadian-welterweights-recall-first-fight-could-meet-again-in-ufc#commentsThu, 18 Apr 2013 20:01:42 +0000http://postmediacanadadotcom.wordpress.com/?p=234033]]>Canadian welterweights Jordan (Young Gun) Mein and Rory (Ares) MacDonald have come a long way since meeting as teenagers back in June 2006 in Lethbridge, Alta.

Both were 16. MacDonald wouldn’t turn 17 for another five weeks. Mein had another four months to go.

It was Mein’s first pro MMA fight and MacDonald’s third.

MacDonald — then fighting out of Kelowna, B.C. — won their encounter at Rumble in the Cage 17, a home-town show put on by Mein’s father Lee, by rear-naked choke at four minutes four seconds of the first round.

“I remember being very disappointed, (having) let down all my friends and family,” recalled Jordan Mein.

“And it was embarrassing,” he added with a laugh.

MacDonald, understandably, has a slightly rosier memory.

“It was a good fight for me,” said the Montreal-based 170-pounder. “Jordan’s a very tough character and I kind of expected after the fight that we would meet up later in the UFC later in our careers.”

That could happen.

Both currently campaign in the UFC, with Mein fighting Matt (The Immortal) Brown on Saturday in San Jose and MacDonald meeting Jake (The Juggernaut) Ellenberger on July 27 in Seattle. Both are televised cards.

The two fighters are now 23, but old beyond their years in fighting terms.

On the UFC’s official website, Mein lists his job before fighting as “making it to class in high school.”

MacDonald offered a few more details in his response.

“Labouring jobs for the most part. I jumped from job to job a lot of the time because I hate work. Basically I only like fighting.”

Both are cool as can be in the cage.

Mein (27-8) is coming off an impressive showing in his UFC debut in March, when he knocked out veteran Dan Miller in the first round at UFC 158 in Montreal.

Before that he went 2-1 in Strikeforce. A split decision loss to Tyron Woodley on a Strikeforce card in January 2012 is Mein’s only setback in his last 10 fights.

MacDonald (14-1) has won four straight since losing to Carlos (The Natural Born Killer) Condit at UFC 115 in June 2010. While injuries have slowed his charge in recent months, his last outing was a lopsided decision over former champion B.J. Penn in December.

MacDonald, whose overall UFC record is 5-1, was slated to meet Condit in a rematch at UFC 158 but had to pull out after spraining his neck in training.

That forced a reshuffle of the card. Hendricks went on to win a decision over Condit while Ellenberger knocked out former Strikeforce champion Nate (The Great) Marquardt in the first round.

Mein (pronounced MEE-in) hopes he gets to meet MacDonald again.

“Absolutely. I’m doing my best to keep my career on path and to keep winning. And he’s doing that as well. So I’m sure they will line up eventually.”

Said MacDonald: “You never know what happens. Right now I’m just thinking about Jake. If I can continue to win and Jordan continues to win, then maybe it will get set up. But it’s really just a matter of how things continue to roll. I’m not really in charge of that.”

Mein also has more pressing matters on his mind, having stepped in for Dan (The Outlaw) Hardy against Brown in San Jose.

Brown (16-11) has reeled off four wins in a row after going 1-4 in his five previous UFC fights. His most recent victim was Mike (Quick) Swick, whom he knocked out in the second round in December.

“It’s a dangerous fight,” Mein said cheerfully. “Get a good win here and it will be nothing but good for my career.”

Mein agreed to replace Hardy less than a week after his win over Miller.

Mein’s philosophy has always been “if you’re healthy, you should definitely step in there and challenge yourself and take short-notice fights.”

And fortuitously he had decided to change up his training regimen after the Miller win. Rather than take a few weeks off, he elected to go straight back to the gym.

Days later he got the call to fight Brown.

“We jumped at it,” Mein said.

A fight fan as well as a fighter, Mein watches a lot of MMA. He can also be found in front of a video game console, playing at being a UFC fighter.

He is an unabashed fan of Brown, calling the matchup a “dream come true.”

“He’s very gritty and stays in everybody’s face. And always puts on an exciting fight because he’s just willing to try and hurt you the entire time,” said Mein.

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]]>http://o.canada.com/sports/young-canadian-welterweights-recall-first-fight-could-meet-again-in-ufc/feed0UFC On Fox: Jordan Mein Open WorkoutthecanadianpressMMA Crossfire – Is Georges St-Pierre a boring fighter?http://o.canada.com/sports/mma-crossfire-is-georges-st-pierre-a-boring-fighter
http://o.canada.com/sports/mma-crossfire-is-georges-st-pierre-a-boring-fighter#commentsTue, 19 Mar 2013 19:16:08 +0000http://o.canada.com/?p=217175]]>UFC 158 is now in the books, but some of the howling over Georges St-Pierre’s victory over Nick Diaz has not subsided.

Even though GSP controlled the match, he did not deliver the beatdown he promised before the fight. When it counted, he reverted to his tried-and-true gameplan of taking Diaz to the ground.

This has ruffled the feathers of some fight fans, who are disappointed with the champ’s predictable ways.

MMA Crossfire – The hard-hitting blog that features expert commentary.

In case you missed it, here’s a quick UFC 158 recap:

It is true that Georges hasn’t finished a fight since B.J. Penn in the superfight rematch of 2009. B.J threw in the towel that night. So, Matt Serra would be the last true finish, which makes it about five years.

St-Pierre has explained this many times and most fight fans understand. In his last six fights there were two fights he probably should have finished: Dan Hardy and Koscheck. Credit these two for not quitting as well. Borderline are Carlos Condit and Diaz.

The champ sent more half of the bout on the feet against the best boxer in the UFC. And he held his own. Look at the superman punch and hooks that repeatedly got through to Diaz. The champ outstruck the challenger 105-41. Now, if GSP had stood the whole bout, the tide could have eventually turned to Diaz’s favour. Nick typically takes a few rounds to warm up. But he squandered the stand-up opportunities in the bout.

This was an exciting technical battle. Several questions were answered, the biggest one being if Diaz enforce his standup gameplan on GSP.

As far as UFC 154 is concerned, it would be foolish to try and match Carlos Condit on the feet when everybody knows his weakness is wrestling, and after a surgically repaired ACL. Look at what Johny Hendricks did. He took it to the ground when he needed to, just like GSP.

Jake Shields was an anomaly. Remember St-Pierre had the service of only one eye after a few rounds at UFC 129. And did we really expect GSP to roll with the best UFC Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (BJJ) black belt at the time?

Out of his last six fights, I score Koscheck, Diaz and Condit as the unquestionably exciting ones. It’s not like the other ones were terrible either.

Safe, maybe. But boring? Not yet.

The pay-per-view numbers bear this out. GSP remains a top draw. The pay-per-view numbers aren’t out yet but with a gate of $3.7 million and 20,145 at the Bell Centre it’s safe to assume the event did well when the pay-per-view buys are counted.

What is needed is a fighter who isn’t afraid to match GSP’s wrestling and standup. Force him to change up the winning gameplan and take him into deep waters.

That fighter could be Johny Hendricks.

(L-R) Johny Hendricks attempts to take down Carlos Condit in their welterweight bout during the UFC 158 event at Bell Centre on March 16, 2013 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. (Photo by Jonathan Ferrey/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images)

Cassie is a mixed martial artist with over five years of study. Training primarily in South Korea, she has black belts in Taekwondo, Hapkido, and Muay Thai kickboxing. A proud Canadian from Roberts Arm, Newfoundland, she files for The Crossfire having recently returned from South Korea. She also blogs for Postmedia Networks’ Womens Fight Club website.. Image courtesy Steve Bartlett

Wiseman: Fletcher, who typically comes out blasting at the start of his fights was more reserved in this match. Ricci put powerful combinations together and perfectly timed counters whenever Fletcher tried to put on the pressure. Fletcher used his leg kicks and random combinations to enforce his game plan, but let Ricci dictate the pace and was unable to switch things around in his favor. Ricci wanted to leave a powerful statement in this match, but could not finish The Freakshow.

Wiseman: Ring, who is usually the technical fighter, came into this fight with his hands down and his chin high for 15 minutes. He showed good speed for the first 10 minutes. but in the final round Camozzi was all over Ring with combs that did damage to Ring’s face. Both fighters had strong moments, but Camozzi clearly took the 3rd round took the win via split decision. The question I have post-fight is, why was Ring showing such a lack of technique tonight?

Wiseman: Marquardt started this fight throwing tones of leg kicks and trying to do damage early to the legs of Ellenberger. Marquardt charged once, but when Ellenberger started to connect, that was the end of the fight. Ellenberger didn’t check any of the kicks from Marquardt, but he showed his speed and power that anyone will have to deal with when he decides to press forward.

Wiseman: Everyone expected Hendricks to be firing his left hand and he was, but Condit took each shot and came back with his own offense. Regardless of Condit’s attempts and various combinations, Hendricks’ wrestling was able to score him the points he needed to win this fight. Condit showed that he is good at getting off his back, but didn’t show strong takedown defense.

MAIN EVENT:

Georges “Rush” St-Pierre vs. Nick Diaz

Georges St-Pierre and Nick Diaz at UFC 158.

WINNER: Georges St-Pierre via unanimous decision, 5045.

Wiseman: Takedowns was the story of this fight. GSP, as per usual, took Diaz down continually, avoid submission attempts and pressure to stay in control. Diaz was able to stuff several takedowns, but GSP showed complete control when on the ground which was expected to be Diaz’s strong area. GSP showed that he isn’t afraid to go anywhere with a fighter who is so strong in his standup and ground game like that of Diaz. However, he completely dominated for the entire fight. Diaz a strong fighter, but still not good enough to take home the belt.

]]>http://o.canada.com/sports/after-the-crossfire-ufc-158-st-pierre-vs-diaz/feed21483700_10151528760006276_282275359_nmmacrossfireMMA Crossfire - The hard-hitting blog that features expert commentary.Cassie is a mixed martial artist with over five years of study. Training primarily in South Korea, she has black belts in Taekwondo, Hapkido, and Muay Thai kickboxing. A proud Canadian from Roberts Arm, Newfoundland, she files for The Crossfire having recently returned from South Korea. She also blogs for Postmedia Networks’ Womens Fight Club website.. Image courtesy Steve BartlettUFC 158UFC 158UFC 158UFC 158 UFC 158MMA Crossfire – UPDATED – UFC 158: St-Pierre vs Diaz predictionshttp://o.canada.com/sports/mma-crossfire-ufc-158-st-pierre-vs-diaz-predictions
http://o.canada.com/sports/mma-crossfire-ufc-158-st-pierre-vs-diaz-predictions#commentsSat, 16 Mar 2013 01:46:24 +0000http://o.canada.com/?p=215691]]>UFC 158 might have the most entertaining pre-amble in recent memory.

Cassie is a mixed martial artist with over five years of study. Training primarily in South Korea, she has black belts in Taekwondo, Hapkido, and Muay Thai kickboxing. A proud Canadian from Roberts Arm, Newfoundland, she files for The Crossfire having recently returned from South Korea. She also blogs for Postmedia Networks’ Womens Fight Club website.. Image courtesy Steve Bartlett

Wiseman: These fighters are still new to the UFC and both are coming off a loss. Ricci has superior takedown defense and is predominately a striker, but Fletcher is the superior striker. Fletcher also has the edge for unpredictability and aggression. From the start of the fight Ricci will be forced to defend from a wild Fletcher, which will continue until the fight is over.

Wiseman: Ring is more well-rounded, but what Camozzi does, he does well. Camozzi is able to deliver combos with his Muay Thai, but also has a ground game. Ring is better as sweeping and transiting on the ground and is better with his takedowns. Camozzi has more experience, but Ring has gone through The Ultimate Fighter and recently pulled off a win over Court McGee. This is going to be a close fight and it will turn into both fighters canceling out the other, but Ring will be able to pull off a close win.

Wiseman: Not only is this Marquardt’s return to UFC, but it is the fight that he accepted on short notice. Nate is talented, but Ellenberger isn’t the sort of fighter that one should take-on in short notice. Ellenberger has the power advantage and is aggressive from the beginning of each fight. Marquardt has struggled in the past against fighters who impose their fight game, which is part of how Ellenberger wins. Ellenberger’s cardio has been questioned in the past, so that is something that Marquardt could take advantage of. The fact that Ellenberger was preparing for a heavy hitter and speed demon like Hendricks may also play to Marquardt’s advantage. I’m sure Ellenberger wasn’t preparing for a long battle, but ducking bombs instead. Marquardt will want to win big with this being his return fight, but the edge goes to Ellenberger who will not give Marquardt a chance to know he’s back inside the octagon before he is forced to defend a takedown and ground-and-pound.

Wiseman: No one can deny Condit is a versatile fighter, but going up against an angry Hendricks doesn’t seem to be the right match for him. Condit tends to start slow and finish strong versus Hendricks who comes out throwing his bombs from the start until he finishes his opponents with a KO win. Condit is fantastic with game plans, but Hendricks is a strong wrestler who can take anyone down and is definitely not going to be waiting around. Hendricks is also pissed off, which is something we haven’t seen yet. He is going to put a stamp on the fact that he deserves a title shot.

Wiseman Prediction: “Bigg Rigg” Johny Hendricks via TKO.

MAIN EVENT:

Georges “Rush” St-Pierre (23-2-0) vs. Nick Diaz (27-8-1)

Georges St-Pierre and Nick Diaz at UFC 158.

Wiseman: Regardless of all the talk, Diaz is a talented fighter. He has cardio, a solid chin, good striking and is dangerous off his back. Where these things become a problem is in the fact that Diaz is a strong striker when his opponents move straight backwards or against the cage. As shown by Condit, Diaz can get frustrated and can lose in the striking game against someone who is good at enforcing distance and movement. Diaz is always dangerous off his back, but when against someone who remains still or simply focusing on guard and not paying attention, he is able to maneuver in unique ways and clamp on incredibly hard submissions. GSP doesn’t move straight forward or backward, so his movement will certainly challenge the striking of Diaz. George is able to mix things up from superman punches, tospinning back kicks, to the use of his jab unlike we’ve seen before. A prime example would be against Josh Koscheck and how he completely destroyed his face merely with jabs. GSP will certainly be able to take things to the mat as he can take anyone down. From there, he will need to stay active and keep Diaz on the defense rather then give him time to get a submission. G.S.P. has gone up against BJJ specialists before such as Jake Shields, but Diaz will be his strongest opponent on his back to date. Condit showed that with a game plan that enforces distance, movement and combos Diaz can be beaten. St-Pierre is more diverse and always has a game plan, so he will be able to take Diaz. Another key point is that this is an angry Georges and whenever we’ve seen this kind of Georges, he delivered. Diaz will want to keep things standing because while he is strong off his back, he tends to bust open easily. George reigning down elbows won’t take long to cause a problem in regards to that.

Wiseman Prediction: Georges “Rush” St-Pierre via TKO due to cuts.

INSIDE MMA analyst Bas Rutten: That should be St-Pierre. He’s a really good wrestler. He should take this fight to the ground. On the ground, he can’t sit still. He needs to constantly to hit Nick Diaz, because Nick Diaz is very good on the ground especially from his back. He submitted some really good guys like even with the omoplata, which is a very hard technique to pull off and he had a really good fight with [Takanori] Gomi, whom he submitted like that. So he was to watch out. So once he takes him down, he should be in the guard, but constantly hitting. Don’t give him time to set up with armbars or triangle chokes. He has to try and stay away from that. And Nick Diaz, he needs to keep the fight on the feet. He needs to see if he can stop the takedowns, but I don’t know if he can do that. I think that going got be very hard for him to stop. Both these guys.. like Nick runs marathons in his off time. They are both crazy, in-shape athletes.

UFC 158 welterweight Jordan “Young Gun” Mein: “I’d like to see Diaz win because I’d like to see a new champion, but I really think St-Pierre’s explosiveness is going to be the key and he factor to this fight. He’s going to explode into certain takedowns, explode into his jabs and probably pull off the victory.”

MMA trainer and Here Comes the Boom starMark DellaGrotte: Nick Diaz, I don’t know man. I’ve got to go with Nick. I can never count him out, no matter who he’s in there with. Nick Diaz is in a fight. He’s got his toughest task at hand, perhaps a changing of the guard. Maybe, maybe not, but I’m a huge fan of both of them, I’m a friend of both of them.. I know there’s going to be fireworks and that’s a win-win not only for me, but for the fans as well.

]]>http://o.canada.com/sports/mma-crossfire-ufc-158-st-pierre-vs-diaz-predictions/feed9MMA UFC 158 20130315mmacrossfireMMA Crossfire - The hard-hitting blog that features expert commentary.Cassie is a mixed martial artist with over five years of study. Training primarily in South Korea, she has black belts in Taekwondo, Hapkido, and Muay Thai kickboxing. A proud Canadian from Roberts Arm, Newfoundland, she files for The Crossfire having recently returned from South Korea. She also blogs for Postmedia Networks’ Womens Fight Club website.. Image courtesy Steve BartlettUFC 158UFC 158UFC 158UFC 158 UFC 158MMA Crossfire – Fans invited to experience the ultimate L’Experience UFC March 13thhttp://o.canada.com/sports/mma-crossfire-fans-invited-to-experience-the-ultimate-lexperience-ufc-march-13th
http://o.canada.com/sports/mma-crossfire-fans-invited-to-experience-the-ultimate-lexperience-ufc-march-13th#commentsWed, 06 Mar 2013 20:09:34 +0000http://o.canada.com/?p=210319]]>In addition to UFC 158, the UFC announced today L’Experience UFC, a fan-friendly event March 13th at the complexe Desjardins in downtown Montreal.

Open and free to fans, the event will consist of UFC 158 open gym workouts, celebrity signings, interactive games, special appearances and more.

Tristar Gym owner Firas Zahabi and UFC welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre will lead a group of celebrity non-MMA athletes and contest winners in a one-hour workout inside the octagon.

There is “substantial” evidence that Diaz tested positive for marijuana metabolites in a UFC 143 post-fight urine test February 4th, 2012, therefore indicating he used the substance before the fight which is a violation of NAC 467.850 (1)(c).

It also brings up Diaz’s previous discipline in 2007 as an indication he knew the NSAC would discipline fighters who use any non-approved drug before or during a contest.

The order argues that where Diaz legally used marijuana in California is not relevant to violating the regulations of the NSAC.

There is substantial evidence to support Diaz understood he should have disclosed his medical marijuana use as either a prescription or over the counter drug on the pre-fight questionnaire.

There is evidence to support Diaz knew he should have disclosed information regarding his medical condition on the pre-fight questionnaire.

]]>http://o.canada.com/sports/mma-crossfire-nsac-files-legal-order-asks-court-to-deny-nick-diazs-petition-for-judicial-review/feed27UFC 137: Penn vs. Diaz - Press ConferencemmacrossfireMMA Crossfire - The hard-hitting blog that features expert MMA commentary.MMA Crossfire DVD Roundup – UFC: Best of 2012: Year in review DVD set for release in Marchhttp://o.canada.com/sports/mma-crossfire-dvd-roundup-ufc-best-of-2012-year-in-review-dvd-set-for-release-in-march
http://o.canada.com/sports/mma-crossfire-dvd-roundup-ufc-best-of-2012-year-in-review-dvd-set-for-release-in-march#commentsMon, 18 Feb 2013 23:43:47 +0000http://o.canada.com/?p=201422]]>The UFC: Best of 2012: Year in review DVD is set for a March 26th release while UFC 155: Dos Santos vs Velasquez II will be available April 2nd.

Both will be available in DVD and Blu-Ray versions.

MMA Crossfire received a DVD copy and it follows the format of previous yearly recaps.

UPDATE: The UFC 155: Dos Santos vs Velasquez II DVD is also in The Crossfire labs and is expected to have an April 2nd release date with a $19.98 MSRP.

The DVD features over 8 hours of content and bonus material. The DVD version features 10 bonus features and has a MSRP for $21.98 CAD while the Blu-Ray version features 25 bonus features and will retail for $31.99 CAD.

]]>http://o.canada.com/sports/mma-crossfire-dvd-roundup-ufc-best-of-2012-year-in-review-dvd-set-for-release-in-march/feed051ePDSEP6-L._SL500_SS500_mmacrossfireUFC: Best of 2012: Year in reviewMMA Crossfire – UFC 120: Bisping vs Akiyama predictionshttp://o.canada.com/sports/ufc-120-predictions
http://o.canada.com/sports/ufc-120-predictions#commentsSat, 16 Oct 2010 02:54:00 +0000/shareit/blogs/mmacrossfire/archive/2010/10/16/ufc-120-predictions.aspx]]>UFC 120 is only one night away. It’s time to for our Crossfire Experts to break down the main event matches.

Michael Bisping continues to be a heavy favourite against Yoshihiro Akiyama.

Cassie is a mixed martial artist with over five years of study. Training primarily in South Korea, she has black belts in Taekwondo, Hapkido, and Muay Thai kickboxing. A proud Canadian from Roberts Arm, Newfoundland, she files for The Crossfire having recently returned from South Korea. She also blogs for Postmedia Networks’ Womens Fight Club website.. Image courtesy Steve Bartlett

The Black Sniper, Michael McDonald. Image courtesy FEG Inc.

“The Black Sniper” Michael McDonald is one of Canada’s most successful fighters and is a 3-time K-1 World Grand Prix Tournament Champion.

Wiseman: While both fighters are pretty much evenly matched in the takedown and striking department, Wilks is ahead in the submission area. Patrick is very adaptable to various challenges that face him in a match which is going to go a long way. Whereas, Wilks has great speed in all of his movements. It’s clear that these fighters will have to come up with a different game plan since they are both heading into the octagon against someone similar to themselves and this is where Patrick gains ground. He will be able to change up whatever he needs to and pull off a victory, whereas Wilks who isn’t as adaptable will get frustrated with finding himself at a loss in coming up with a game plan to defeat Patrick.

Wiseman Prediction: Claude “The Prince” Patrick via decision.

The Black Sniper: Wilks is a tough dude that can take punishment, but still comes out on top. This fight will be a cardio test for Patrick because his fights do not always go the full distance. Wilks has gone the distance in a lot of his fights so he’ll know how to weather the storm and work the gas tank..

Claude Patrick is good with submissions and getting better with his ground game. He is not too bad with the hands but the ground is where he applies his best work. He should work his kicks a lot more and a lot of these other fighters too. May the best man win, but there can only be one winner. Wilks via decision.

The Black Sniper Prediction: James “Lightning” Wilks via decision.

Cheick Kongo (25-6-1) VS Travis “Hapa” Browne (10-0-0)

Wiseman: Both fighters are huge and pack a massive amount of power, but Browne has a ground game which will cause great difficulty. Kongo will try to keep this fight standing, but he is a much better striker then Browne, so don’t expect the stand up match to last long. Browne will want to take this to the mat as soon as possible where he will do a little ground and pound, then move in for a submission.

Wiseman Prediction: Travis “Hapa” Browne via submission.

The Black Sniper: Cheick Kongo has been out of the limelight for a little while. He really needs to shine to get the fans back. He got dominated by Cain Velasquez and Frank Mir. Kongo has had several months to get his head and mind back together for UFC 120. He knows where he stands and what he needs to do to win back the fans again. He has to be smart and not rush because carelessness can create a loss. Kongo has better kickboxing kills and good knees that can ring your bell or knock you out. His punching ability is good and can knock a man out with his fist. He must win and win convincingly with a KO or he will be considered as just a regular fighter and might lose some of his fan base or contract with the UFC.

Travis Browne is a tough dude like most and has a lot off natural strength. He will be facing a guy with very good Muay Thai skills and knows what to do when on his feet. I think it will be obvious that Travis will try to take Kongo to the ground and pound him out. This will be a test for Browne, but he might have his hands full after the bell goes. Don’t leave your seats because this one might be quick. Cheick Kongo for the win via KO in the second round.

The Black Sniper Prediction: Cheick Kongo via second-round KO.

John “The Hitman” Hathaway (14-0-0) VS Mike “Quicksand” Pyle (19-7-1)

Wiseman: Pyle has been doing a little trash talking, but there is definitely no merit for anything against Hathaway’s skills. When looking at both fighters, Hathaway definitely comes out on top being so versatile and fast. While Pyle’s strengths is in the submission department which isn’t a strong point for Hathaway, he is still knowledgeable enough to get himself out of dangerous situations to advance himself into a dangerous position. This is definitely not going to be a stand up match. Unfortunately for Pyle, he isn’t going to be the fighter to end Hathaway’s perfect record.
Wiseman Prediction: John “The Hitman” Hathaway via decision.

The Black Sniper: Another great matchup with a possibility of sparks flying. Hathaway is very good on the ground with adequate Thai boxing skills..He knows how to keep his opponent on the canvas while working his submissions..This guy sometimes make it look a lot easier than it is..

Mike Pyle is ready ,revved up to touch gloves against John Hathaway..He is very anxious about this fight and very confident he has the skills to beat Hathaway..He speaks very highly of Hathaway, but in the end it is just business. He has good wrestling and Jiu-jitsu. Average boxing skills but tough. He trains out of Randy Couture’s gym, so give him more confidence to be victorious fight night..Another hard one to call, but the Brit wins via decision in the third round.

Wiseman: Hardy has been training hard on weak points that were evident in his fight against GSP and this will be much needed against Condit. However, when considering Condit’s strengths versus Hardy’s weaknesses it’s obvious what Condit’s game plan will be: Take the fight to the mat. With Hardy’s stand up game, it’s definitely stronger then Condit’s, but in the ground game department Condit is well ahead of Hardy. Therefore, Condit will win this match-up.

The Black Sniper: Dan Hardy is a good fighter but it will be interesting to see how he battles against the Natural Born Killer Carlos Condit. He has a reach disadvantage so it will be curious as to how he’ll reach Condit’s head with a punch. Hardy will have to use his kickboxing kills and try to keep this fight standing a majority of the time because Condit knows many submissions from being on his back when it goes to the ground. Hardy will have to be very busy and have the stamina to keep this fight going. Hardy will have to break Condit’s body down and put some hurt on him or tire Hardy out.

The Natural Born Killer is very good on the ground and has average kickboxing skills. Carlos Condit knows his submission from his back or will ground and pound you until the ref halts the action. He has great knees that can remove your molars without a visit at your local dental office. This will be an interesting fight for the both of them and will see if they really know how to fight someone tall. This is a kind of a hard one to call, but Condit wins via submission in the third round.

Wiseman: Both fighters bring a load of talent to the octagon. Bisping is great at adapting to whatever situation occurs in a fight, he has great endurance and has great striking. Akiyama has great submissions, judo and powerful striking. On paper these fighters seem to be pretty even in several areas, however the biggest difference is the gas tank. Bisping has fantastic endurance and we have seen it time and time again. Akiyama on the other had has been known to lack in that department and we saw it again in his latest fight again Chris Leben. This will bring home the victory for Bisping.

Wiseman Prediction: Michael “The Count” Bisping via decision.

The Black Sniper: Here we have from Great Britain, my countrymen Michael Bisping against Yoshihiro-san from Japan. When Yoshihiro stepped in the ring in a previous fight with with Chris Leben, many of the fans thought that not only did he look good, but was not that good. Losing to Leben must of brought the Samurai spirit out of him to prepare for the fight against The Count. I am sure Akiyama is training twice a day and working on why he lost his last fight so he doesn’t make that same mistake. He must be eating and drinking Bisping and staying focused to execute while in combat..He will be bringing it when he lands in the octagon..

Michael Bisping is a fighter that can pull off submissions when in trouble. He has a tendency to kick and not step in the V, so his head is there for the straight. His boxing skills are average but gotta tuck that chin in and not stand so upright when moving. He has average boxing and kicking skills to kick some butt and steal girlfriends. This will be a hard fight for him because Akiyama want not only to win this fight but to treat it like it is Chris Leben was his opponent. Bisping for a win via KO in the third round.

]]>http://o.canada.com/sports/ufc-120-predictions/feed0Image (1) 3817.ufc 120.jpg for post 411mmacrossfireMMA Crossfire - The hard-hitting blog that features expert MMA commentary.Cassie is a mixed martial artist with over five years of study. Training primarily in South Korea, she has black belts in Taekwondo, Hapkido, and Muay Thai kickboxing. A proud Canadian from Roberts Arm, Newfoundland, she files for The Crossfire having recently returned from South Korea. She also blogs for Postmedia Networks’ Womens Fight Club website.. Image courtesy Steve BartlettYour Call: UFC 120: Akiyama vs. Bispinghttp://o.canada.com/sports/your-call-ufc-120-akiyama-vs-bisping
http://o.canada.com/sports/your-call-ufc-120-akiyama-vs-bisping#commentsThu, 14 Oct 2010 21:02:00 +0000/shareit/blogs/mmacrossfire/archive/2010/10/14/your-call-ufc-120-akiyama-vs-bisping.aspx]]>Michael Bisping appeared very confident at the UFC 120 media conference call. He acknowledged challenger Yoshihiro Akiyama’s skills, but calmly declared that when the dust settles at UFC 120, he will be the victor.

He also brushed aside his loss to Wanderlei Silva and Akiyama enlisting the services of esteemed trainer Greg Jackson.

There is a real possibility that Akiyama has indeed learned from the disappointing loss to The Crippler at UFC 116. Akiyama was arguably winning the match until he gassed late and got caught in a submission triangle choke with twenty seconds left in round three.

And what of Carlos Condit and Dan Hardy? Both have acknowledged each other skills, but has Hardy’s ground game improved to the point where he can nullify Condit? Or will The Outlaw bend to the Condit’s never-say-die warrior attitude that toppled Canadian Rory MacDonald.at UFC 115?

Cheick Kongo is coming off a win, but the losses to Frank Mir and Cain Velasquez continue to loom over him. He takes on big and undefeated Travis Browne. Can Kongo make a statement at Browne’s expense?

Tickets for the event will officially be available Saturday January 26th at 12 noon ET at evenko.ca and the Bell Centre box office. Tickets are priced at $600, $350, $250, $200, $165, $115 and $85, not including taxes and applicable surcharges.

UFC Fight Club members get first dibs Thursday, January 24th at 10 am ET while UFC newsletter subscribers get second crack Friday, January 25th at 10 am.

In other matchups, Condit (28-6-0) takes on Rory MacDonald (14-1-0) in a rematch, while Johny Hendricks (14-1-0) and Jake Ellenberger (28-6-0) square off.

As MMA Crossfire readers already know, 2012 was a tough year in many respects for MMA. Injuries was the dominant storyline of the year. Retirements were a close second, with positive drug tests lurking too closely nearby.

Opportunities arose and some capitalized on them, while others did not.

This was the evolution of the Jon Fitch we had expected long ago but never really saw. Fitch was desperate to finish the bout and collect the fight of the night bonus. Silva wanted to send a message that he could win without having to adjust his style. And this is the standard MMA fans will hold Fitch to going forward. There is no going back.

A main event that held up to the hype and let us say for the record, the women’s division carried Strikeforce on their back as long as they could, going back to Carano vs Cyborg. The arm collector and Rowdy One against the all-around tough “Cupcake,” determined to show the rookie who the boss was. But five intriguing minutes later, it was Rousey with another score. Tate walked away with her head high, thwarting several attempts and forcing the ref to stop the fight despite locked deep in Rousey’s clutches. A coming out moment for Rousey which served noticed to MMA that there’s a new sheriff in town.

Carlos Condit, bottom, battles with Georges St-Pierre during their UFC welterweight title fight Sunday, November 18, 2012 in Montreal. A relentless St-Pierre celebrated his comeback by winning a five-round decision over Condit to unify the welterweight title in a bloody battle at UFC 154. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Ryan Remiorz

Let’s get this one straight. Condit ran whenever Diaz backed him up against the cage, but engaged everywhere else. That’s what any fighter should do, if they’re smart. Why let Diaz trap him and beat him up against the fence? He outsmarted Diaz on the feet landing tons of leg kicks. Diaz did his thing but adjusted too late preferring to walk Condit down towards the cage. At any rate, an exciting bout. And now, we get to see how Nick against GSP at UFC 158 in Montreal.

Palhares had a Freddy Krueger-like reputation of collecting ankles and Belcher not only extinguished that reputation, he beat him at his own game with a ton of chess-like brainpower and execution. Palhares hasn’t recovered yet.

Building on the UFC 144 bout in Japan, we saw a more determined Edgar against a more technical Henderson along with a battle of wills. One of the bouts that showcases why fighters need to keep evolving.

Always wait until all of the cards have concluded. I’m sure a few top-10 lists neglected to include this one. The only thing gem lacked was a decisive finish. Both fighters left it in the octagon. Lauzon is a tough one to hang in there.

Carlos Condit, bottom, battles with Georges St-Pierre during their UFC welterweight title fight Sunday, November 18, 2012 in Montreal. A relentless St-Pierre celebrated his comeback by winning a five-round decision over Condit to unify the welterweight title in a bloody battle at UFC 154. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Ryan Remiorz

Fights like this are enhanced when all the marbles are on the line. When Condit landed that head kick and had GSP on the ropes was when this fight turned really interesting and fast. We saw a resilient Condit that could dish out as well as take. We also saw a rejuvenated St-Pierre as promised and it speaks to the quality of his opponent that he wasn’t able to finish him. How many great fights have there been in Montreal? Yet another possible one with Diaz and GSP hooking up at UFC 158.

Hendricks has accused St-Pierre of ducking him, saying the Montreal mixed martial arts star is afraid of his knockout power.

That drew laughs from St-Pierre.

“He wants to create animosity to make a story, for me to accept the fight,” St-Pierre told The Canadian Press. “But I believe the fight with Diaz is more interesting to the public and is the fight people want to see.”

“People want the big fight and the bigger fight is Diaz right now,” he added.

Hendricks (14-1) has won five straight including spectacular knockouts of Jon Fitch and Martin (The Hitman) Kampmann to lay his claim as the No. 1 contender at 170 pounds.

But St-Pierre (23-2) says one of those wins should actually be a loss.

“He fought Josh Koscheck. I watched that fight and I would give that fight to Koscheck,” the champion said.

Hendricks won by split (29-28, 28-29, 29-28) decision.

St-Pierre requested the Diaz fight, telling UFC boss Dana White it was unfinished business. Diaz (26-8) agreed and White put them in the main event of UFC 158 on March 16 at Montreal’s Bell Centre.

The two were slated to meet in October 2011 but Diaz was yanked by the UFC after failing to turn up for news conferences in Toronto and Las Vegas with St-Pierre.

“I just hope he doesn’t do anything stupid to cancel the fight (this time),” St-Pierre said. “Because I would be very disappointed. I’m giving him the chance now. It’s a big-money fight.

“I believe he’s a smart guy. He just acts crazy but I believe he’s a smart guy and it will be a good fight.”

Diaz is serving a one-year suspension for testing positive for marijuana around his February interim title loss to Carlos (Natural Born Killer) Condit.

St-Pierre beat Condit at UFC 154 last month in his first outing in almost 19 months due to knee surgery.

“Hendricks, no problem. Next time it’s going to be Hendricks,” said St-Pierre. “I cannot split myself in half.

“Because if I were to fight Hendricks now, Diaz would complain and people would complain. But the big fight right now is Nick Diaz.”

St-Pierre says he can’t make everyone happy.

“When I beat Diaz, now people are going to say ‘Now it’s Hendricks, why don’t you want me?’ Someone else will complain. It’s like that. When you have the title, people complain.

“It’s a very stacked competition, the welterweights. Especially now because I just came back from a long time off so I haven’t defended my title for a long time. So there’s a lot of guys that believe they deserve the shot more than others. That’s why the situation is complicated.

“But I’m not mad at Hendricks. I understand Hendricks, I understand his point. But you know, I cannot split myself in half.”

Asked where a proposed super-fight with middleweight champion Anderson Silva fits in his schedule, St-Pierre said he cannot predict the future.

“Right now I focus only on Nick Diaz. We’ll see what’s going to be the situation after the fight because the situation might change. We’ll see what’s going to happen.”

The 31-year-old St-Pierre, who plans to spend Christmas with his family, says he has no plans to retire.

“I don’t know when I’m going to want to finish. Right now I’m very happy and I plan to do this for a long time. We’ll see how it goes.”

Hendricks (14-1) has won five straight to punch his way to the front of the 170-pound contenders’ line. But he finds himself having to wait his turn as St-Pierre focuses first on Nick Diaz, and then possibly Anderson Silva.

“The first thing that went through my mind is that if I didn’t show the power that I did, would I have got that (GSP) fight?” Hendricks said Thursday.

“My striking power is something he’s worried about,” he added. “We saw it in the (Carlos) Condit fight, we’ve seen it before. Whenever he gets hit, whenever he gets rocked, he doesn’t like it. And I think I’m a threat to his belt, I really do. And that’s what I’m going to keep telling myself.

“And I’m going to keep working and improving myself, to keep being a bigger threat to him.”

Hendricks, a former NCAA all-American wrestler with heavy hands, said he was initially livid at the news he was being passed over.

“I’ve sort of calmed down from that first initial shock,” he said.

Having requested a date with Diaz, GSP gets his wish March 16 in the main event of UFC 158 in Montreal. Hendricks will fight Jake (The Juggernaut) Ellenberger (28-6) in an earlier fight on the main card at the Bell Centre.

“It’s not the fight that I wanted but it’s still a tough fight. And not only that, it’s a fight that can better prepare me for GSP,” said Hendricks, clearly seeing the glass as half-full.

But he is also aware of the risks he faces.

“You only get so many opportunities for a title shot. And here mine has been taken away from me. And who’s to say I go out and win my next fight?”

Asked if he thinks less of the champion now, Hendricks replied: “Yeah. The way that he handled this? Yes.”

St-Pierre did not immediately respond to an interview request Thursday.

Like UFC boss Dana White, St-Pierre has reportedly said Hendricks will get his shot. But he says fans want to see him fight Diaz first.

“They’re going to tune in whenever I fight,” responded Hendricks, referring to the fans. “You better believe that. … No matter what happens, I have a chance to finish at any given moment and that’s something that fans like to see.”

Hendricks is coming off a 46-second knockout of Martin (The Hitman) Kampmann on the same UFC 154 card in Montreal that saw St-Pierre, returning from a lengthy injury layoff, win a five-round decision over Carlos (Natural Born Killer) Condit.

“I’m still improving and GSP said that he didn’t have the performance he wanted against Carlos Condit,” Hendricks said. “I think he didn’t want to take me on the next fight, because he probably wants to make sure that he has the best possible preparation he can to fight me.”

Diaz (26-8), sidelined by a drug suspension for marijuana, has not fought since losing the interim title bout to Condit in February during GSP’s injury absence.

White said St-Pierre (23-2) had requested the Diaz fight, calling it unfinished business. The two were slated to meet in October 2011 but Diaz was yanked by the UFC after failing to turn up for news conferences in Toronto and Las Vegas with St-Pierre.

White said St-Pierre had earned the right to get his wish and that Hendricks, while on a good run, would have to wait his turn.

Hendricks has defeated a pair of welterweights who lost title shots to the 31-year-old St-Pierre. The 2005 and ’06 NCAA champion wrestler at 165 pounds won a decision over Josh Koscheck and knocked out Jon Fitch in 12 seconds.

He also beat Mike Pierce and T.J. Waldburger at the start of his current win streak.

“I’ve done everything I could to put myself in this position and for him (St-Pierre) to sit here and take that away from me, that’s what eats at me the most — is that some guy, not even the company (UFC), it’s a guy that took it from me.”

The delay in his title shot is only adding to his motivation and giving him time to get better, Hendricks said.

“We know that GSP has sort of maintained where’s he’s at the last couple of years and I’m only improving.”

The proposed GSP-Silva super-fight could further delay Hendricks’s title aspirations.

“I’ve thought about that,” said Hendricks. “If that happens, I think I’d try to get a hold of Anderson Silva and tell him ‘Please don’t take the fight. Let me have a shot at him. And if he beats me, then by all means, do what you want to do.”‘

One positive Hendricks has taken from the whole experience is the support from fans via social media.

“Man, that was such a low, low day but to see the support that I got was amazing. Absolutely amazing.”

The 29-year-old Hendricks took to social media himself earlier in the day to announce that he and his wife Christina are expecting their third child. They already have a three- and one-year-old.

The fight is expected to happen in Montreal in March with the card expected to be UFC 158.

UFC president Dana White confirmed this week that the Bell Centre show will also feature a rematch between Canadian welterweight Rory (Ares) MacDonald and Carlos (Natural Born Killer) Condit.

St-Pierre and MacDonald train together at Montreal’s Tristar gym.

St-Pierre, the UFC welterweight champion, had asked to meet Diaz next, citing unfinished business. The two were slated to meet in October 2011 but the UFC yanked Diaz for failing to show up for a pair of news conferences.

Diaz was originally replaced by Condit but St-Pierre injured his knee in training. Condit then beat Diaz in February for the interim title, earning the right to meet the Canadian champion in Montreal last month.

St-Pierre won by unanimous decision.

St-Pierre (23-2) has put a proposed super-fight with Anderson Silva to the side to face Diaz.

UFC president Dana White said last week in Seattle that the GSP-Diaz fight would happen this time, presuming Diaz agreed.

Whit said GSP told him “Me and Nick Diaz have unfinished business. We were supposed to fight. That’s the fight that I want.’

Diaz (27-8-1) was hit with a one-year suspension after the Condit fight for testing positive for marijuana.

A GSP-Diaz fight is bad news for contender Johny (Bigg Rigg) Hendricks, who thought he had the next title shot after dispatching Martin (The Hitman) Kampmann, Josh Koscheck and Jon Fitch in compiling a five-fight win streak.

Hendricks has accused St-Pierre of ducking him.

]]>http://o.canada.com/sports/nick-diaz-agrees-to-meet-ufc-welterweight-champion-georges-st-pierre/feed0WpmhzrvRqG.jpgthecanadianpressPenn looks to add to legacy by beating MacDonaldhttp://o.canada.com/sports/penn-looks-to-add-to-legacy-by-beating-macdonald
http://o.canada.com/sports/penn-looks-to-add-to-legacy-by-beating-macdonald#commentsWed, 28 Nov 2012 02:02:50 +0000http://postmediacanadadotcom.wordpress.com/?p=158362]]>TORONTO — Former champion B.J. (The Prodigy) Penn says he will be in top shape for his Dec. 8 UFC fight with Rory (Ares) MacDonald, pointing to the desire to add to his legacy and trash-talk from his young Canadian opponent as motivation.

Penn, a former lightweight and welterweight title-holder, has not always maximized his training and it has cost him in fights.

The 33-year-old Hawaiian retired in the cage in October 2011 after a lopsided loss to Nick Diaz. But after mulling over his future, he told UFC boss Dana White that he wanted to return, with the highly rated MacDonald (13-1) as his choice of welterweight opponent.

Penn (16-8-2) said he told White via a text exchange several months ago that he was tired of being ignored when it came to talk of the cream of the fighting crop.

“I told Dana I watch all these interviews and all these people talking and no one says my name when they’re talk about the greatest fighters anymore. And I really don’t like that, it really bothers me,” Penn told a media conference call in advance of his showdown with MacDonald in Seattle.

“And I know it’s my fault. I know I’m the reason why people don’t talk about me when they talk about GSP (Georges St-Pierre) or Anderson Silva. My name was always in the mix. It’s never in the mix any more.

“And I told Dana I’ve got a real problem with that. And that was actually a big part of my motivation to come back and be strong and do a good fight here on Dec. 8.”

Benson Henderson defends his lightweight title against Nate Diaz, Nick’s younger brother, in the main event at the Key Arena.

Penn has had plenty of time to prepare. Originally slated for September at Toronto, the bout was delayed when MacDonald suffered a cut in training that needed 38 stitches to prepare.

“I started this training camp at probably 40 per cent body fat,” Penn said. “I was just going to get into shape a little, go there and give it my best effort.

“But as things started going on, Rory ended up pulling out 10 weeks before the last fight and he was saying that he saw me, I looked fat and a bunch of different things, that he’ll probably end up killing me in the ring.

“That really lit a fire under my butt and I think I’m down under 10 per cent (body fat). I’m ready to go. I’m expecting the best B.J. Penn that I’ve ever seen. We’ll just see how this all plays out.”

Penn said he never lost his fire to fight, although he might have lost the desire “to prepare properly.”

Not this time.

“We took my belly off,” Penn said of his extended training camp.

The Hawaiian said he had got the itch to fight again, saying it was “better than staying home, sitting on the couch.”

“I realize I can’t do this for ever, so I might as well make the most of it I can,” he said.

“As far as fighting with Rory, I think he’s a great opponent, he’s an up-and-comer, he’s one of the top guys,” he added. “Everyone says he going to be a champion soon.”

Penn said fighting MacDonald also gave him another crack at Montreal’s Tristar Gym, where St-Pierre, the current welterweight champion and MacDonald both train.

“They’re a great team,” he said of Tristar.

Just 23, MacDonald is considered by some as the heir apparent to GSP, who has two wins over Penn.

The native of Kelowna, B.C., who moved to Montreal to train at Tristar, is 4-1 in the UFC and has won three straight in impressive fashion since losing to Carlos (Natural Born Killer) Condit — beaten by GSP at UFC 154.

“There’s a lot of hype behind him,” White said of MacDonald. “A lot of people that I respect in the business say good things about him.

“I think this is a big fight for Rory. The one thing that you always know about B.J. Penn, you’re not going in there and running over B.J.

“B.J.’s going to fight until the end. He doesn’t cut, he’s never been knocked out. B.J.’s a tough guy, man, and B.J.s a crafty guy. He’s got good standup, obviously great submissions. His wrestling is good.

“I think B.J. is going to be a big test for him.”

Penn is 1-3-1 since the beginning of 2010. That run includes losing his 155-pound title and a rematch to Frankie (The Answer) Edgar before beating veteran Matt Hughes, drawing Jon Fitch and losing to Nick Diaz, all three at 170 pounds.

MacDonald, then 20 by a few months, became the youngest fighter on the UFC’s books when he signed a four-bout deal in the fall of 2009. Five fights later, he remains the seventh-youngest.

Penn and MacDonald have snapped at each other over Twitter, with Penn — no stranger to trying to get under people’s skin — making some thinly veiled drug references about MacDonald.

The Canadian agreed to undergo random drug testing. He says he has already passed two tests.

Asked if he thought MacDonald was cheating, Penn said: “I’m sure there are people in all sports that bend the rules but I’m not going to sit here and point the finger.”

“If I was going to make a comeback I want to make it as safe as I can for when I step in the ring,” he added. “And that’s all that this was about. I’m not pointing the finger, I’m not saying ‘Rory, you do steroids’ or anything like that. It has nothing to do with anything like that. I’m just protecting my own butt.”

Penn says fighting is more than a sport for him.

“This isn’t putting a ball in a hole, this has always been a fight for me,” he said.

And he says he welcomes trash-talk from opponents, saying it fires him up.

“It’s just all wonderful. I couldn’t ask for anything more.”

NOTES — UFC president Dana White says Georges St-Pierre, heralded as the UFC’s top pay-per-view draw, did not disappoint in his recent return from a lengthy injury layoff at UFC 154 in Montreal. “The king of pay-per-view is back, let’s put it that way,” he said.

MONTREAL, CANADA – NOVEMBER 16: (L-R) Opponents Mark Hominick and Pablo Garza face off during the official UFC 154 weigh in at New City Gas on November 16, 2012 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. (Photo by Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images)

Wiseman: Hominick did one thing that he said he would do and that was starting the fight with pressure. The problem is that Garza, after quickly recovering from being rocked in the first round was able to use his combinations and ground-and-pound to rearrange the face of Hominick. Both the second and third rounds consisted of Garza pounding the face of Hominick. Hominick wasn’t able to do anything off his back aside from one useful butterfly guard which only allowed him to stand for a second. Garza showed complete control throughout the fight and once again Hominick had his face messed up as he suffered his fourth consecutive loss. Is this the last time we see him in a UFC octagon?

Nick “The Promise” Ring vs. Constantinos “Costa” Philippou

Francis “Limitless” Carmont vs. Tom “Filthy” Lawlor

MONTREAL, CANADA – NOVEMBER 16: (L-R) Opponents Francis Carmont and Tom Lawlor face off during the official UFC 154 weigh in at New City Gas on November 16, 2012 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. (Photo by Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images)

Wiseman: Carmont made Lawlor work for takedowns and was able to put together some combinations in the standup. Even though Lawlor was able to end rounds one and two in a submission position, Carmont was still able to land impressive ground-and-pound in the last seconds of both rounds. Lawlor having to work so hard for takedowns no doubt took his energy, so in the final round he wasn’t able to put the power behind his shots as he is known for. However, when a heavy hitter who lacks technique steps inside the octagon and can’t connect or score a takedown, they are often left wondering what to do next. Lawlor needs to gain a more unpredictable game.Martin “The Hitman” Kampmann vs Johny “Big Rigg” Hendricks

MONTREAL, CANADA – NOVEMBER 16: (L-R) Opponents Martin Kampmann and Johny Hendricks face off during the official UFC 154 weigh in at New City Gas on November 16, 2012 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. (Photo by Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images)

Wiseman: When fighters step inside the octagon with their one-punch-knock-out power being what they lean on the most, it is often the cause of their downfall. Tonight was not that night for Hendricks. Kampmann clearly the more versatile fighter, but no matter who Hendricks hits with his power, they are going to go down. Kampmann needed to close the gap and more more laterally to stay away from Hendricks rushing in with his fists. Hendricks will continue to use this power until someone learns to close that gap quickly.

George “Rush” St. Pierre vs. Carlos “The Natural Born Killer” Condit

MONTREAL, CANADA – NOVEMBER 16: (L-R) Opponents Georges St-Pierre and Carlos Condit face off during the official UFC 154 weigh in at New City Gas on November 16, 2012 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. (Photo by Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images)

Wiseman: The question of if GSP. would be rusty was answered tonight as he looked bigger then usual and was able to takedown as always. Condit did do damage after a random head kick connected, then Condit followed up with ground-and-pound. However, for the majority of the fight GSP was able to use his superior grappling to control Condit. Condit needed to be able to stuff some or any of the takedowns that George attempted. George may have been damaged tonight, which is more then what we’ve seen in awhile, but he still looked as dominant as always.

MONTREAL – For months, Georges St-Pierre heard the questions. He needed just 25 minutes to provide the answers.

Would the Ultimate Fighting Championship welterweight king be the same after knee surgery? Had he lost his desire? Would ring rust affect him? Would he buckle under the pressure of a hometown return?

With a pristine performance, St-Pierre showed the fighting world he’s as good as ever.

Back in UFC’s octagon for the first time since April 2011, St-Pierre picked up where he left off, defending his title for the seventh straight time dating back to 2008 with a unanimous decision over interim champion Carlos Condit in front of a roaring crowd Saturday night at Bell Centre.

It was a moment St-Pierre had imagined countless times as he prepared for his comeback.

“The feel of the octagon, the feeling of the ground, the crowd, everything. I missed that a lot,” said St-Pierre (23-2), who was awarded scores of 50-45, 50-45 and 49-46 by the judges.

“A lot of people talk about ring rust. I definitely know what it is now. Credit to Carlos. He gave me my toughest fight. An amazing martial artist.”

Saturday’s bout was first scheduled for last October before a minor knee injury to St-Pierre delayed it until February. But after St-Pierre nemesis Nick Diaz beat BJ Penn and called out St-Pierre, going so far as to question whether St-Pierre was even hurt, GSP immediately insisted he fight Diaz in February.

Before that could happen, though, St-Pierre suffered a torn anterior cruciate ligament last December. As a result, Condit faced and defeated Diaz for the interim title and the right to face St-Pierre.

St-Pierre was greeted with one of the loudest ovations in UFC history. Reporters on press row, 10 feet from the cage, were barely able to hear ring announcer Bruce Buffer introduce the champion.

The first round was the St-Pierre of old, getting Condit down with his first takedown attempt and eventually opening up a cut over his right eye with a sharp left elbow. The second round was more of the same, with St-Pierre getting the better of the standup before taking Condit back down. Condit scored from his back, though, landing elbows, punches and bruising up the champ.

Condit had his best chance early in the third, when he caught St-Pierre with a high left kick and rocked the champion. In an instant, the crowd of 17,249 (which paid a live gate of $3.143 million) went from cheering St-Pierre’s every move to pleading for him to survive.

“I didn’t see the kick. I think in the round before this one, I got punched in the eyes and my eye was a little blurry. I didn’t see the kick,” said St-Pierre. “What you don’t see, that’s what dangerous.”

Condit felt like that was his moment to finish the champion.

“I had him pretty close,” said Condit (28-6), adding he felt like if he could have gotten through with one barrage while St-Pierre was fallen, “I might have gotten the stoppage.”

St-Pierre continued his onslaught in the fourth and fifth, each round wasting no time in using the best wrestling in MMA to take Condit to the mat. As the clock ticked down, the thousands stood and roared, their conquering hero victorious.

“I had fun. I had a blast out there,” said St-Pierre, grinning at the post-fight news conference despite his swollen, bruised and discoloured face.

The Brazilian legend has held the 185-pound title since 2006, going 16-0 since his UFC debut that year. A catchweight bout between arguably the two best to ever compete in the octagon has been talked about for years, but now seems close to becoming a reality.

Silva, who was cageside at UFC 154, said prior to the event he was excited about the prospect of facing St-Pierre at a catchweight of 177 or 178 pounds.

“For a long time, people talked ‘Anderson and Georges St-Pierre, Anderson and Georges St-Pierre.’ (Lately), people have talked, ‘Anderson and Jon Jones, Anderson and Jon Jones.’ My first goal is the Georges St-Pierre fight, the superfight. Then, maybe Jon Jones,” said Silva.

UFC president Dana White said he would give St-Pierre 10 days or two weeks to rest and recover before beginning discussions about a match versus Silva.

If it comes together, says White, he’d be looking at an event in May at either Cowboys Stadium in Dallas, Rogers Centre in Toronto or a soccer stadium in Brazil. The pay-per-view would be expected to shatter all existing UFC pay-per-view records.

“Right now, I was focusing on Carlos Condit 100 per cent,” said St-Pierre.

“I need to take some vacation and think about it, to see about my career and make my best choice for myself and my fans … We’ll see what’s going to happen.”

In other pay-per-view bouts:

* Johny Hendricks (14-1) landed a straight left hand that dropped Martin Kampmann (20-6) flat before finishing him with one more left on the mat after just 46 seconds of their welterweight bout.

With the win, Hendricks made a case for himself as the next No. 1 contender in the division.

* Montreal’s Francis Carmont (20-7) was awarded a split decision over Tom Lawlor (8-5) in a middleweight match. All three judges scored the match 29-28.

* Rafael dos Anjos (18-6) made the most of his last-minute pay-per-view opportunity, dominating Woodbridge, Ont., native Mark Bocek (11-5) via unanimous decision in a lightweight bout. All three judges scored it 30-27 in a bout that got bumped up after the middleweight match between Calgary’s Nick Ring (13-1) and Costa Philippou (12-2, 1 NC) was cancelled Saturday morning. Ring fell ill and did not receive doctor’s clearance to compete.

* Ontario’s Mark Hominick (20-12), of Thamesford, one of the most popular fighters in Canada, dropped his fourth straight bout, losing to Pablo Garza (13-3) via unanimous decision in a featherweight contest. The judges scored the contest 29-27, 30-26 and 29-28.

In preliminary bouts:

* Montreal’s Patrick Cote (19-8) was awarded a disqualification victory over Alessio Sakara (19-10, 1 NC) after just 1:26 of their middleweight bout. Sakara was DQd for repeated punches to the back of Cote’s head.

* Cyrille Diabate (20-8-3) submitted Chad Griggs (11-3) at 2:21 of the first round in a light heavyweight contest.

* Montreal’s John Makdessi (10-2) beat popular London, Ont., native Sam Stout (19-8-1) via unanimous decision in a high-energy lightweight match. Two judges scored the bout 30-27, while the third had it 29-28.

* Ontario’s Antonio Carvalho (15-5), of Oshawa, was given a split decision over Rodrigo Damm (10-6) in a featherweight contest. All three judges scored the match 29-28, with two giving the nod to Carvalho.

* Matt Riddle (7-3, 1 NC) earned a unanimous decision over crafty John Maguire (18-5) in a welterweight bout. Two judges scored the match 30-27, while the third had it 29-28.

* In slick fashion, Montreal’s Ivan Menjivar (25-9) improved to 4-1 in UFC, locking in an armbar to submit Azamat Gashimov (10-2) at 2:44 of the first round in a bantamweight match.

MONTREAL, CANADA – NOVEMBER 16: (L-R) Opponents Mark Hominick and Pablo Garza face off during the official UFC 154 weigh in at New City Gas on November 16, 2012 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. (Photo by Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images)

Wiseman: Hominick is on a 3 fight losing streak and wasn’t great in his last fight. When his standup is on he’s amongst the best, but he hasn’t shown that side of him in awhile now. Garza is good off his back, tall and has good knees. His takedown defense is questionable, but with Hominick showing a constant downhill fall recently it’s questionable to pick him over almost anyone at this point. Garza can use his length to do some damage and if taken down he has the superior ground game, so this fight really is the break or make for Hominick.

MONTREAL, CANADA – NOVEMBER 16: (L-R) Nick Ring and Constantinos Philippou weigh in during the official UFC 154 weigh in at New City Gas on November 16, 2012 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. (Photo by Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images)

Wiseman: Philippou has good defense, constantly improving with his takedown defense and heavy hands. Rings best chance as winning is via submission as Philippou can compete with his pretty closely in other areas of his fight game. Both fighters can set a good pace, but after tasting a few of Philippou’s punches Ring will want things to the mat. Once on the mat, it Ring’s world.

MONTREAL, CANADA – NOVEMBER 16: (L-R) Opponents Francis Carmont and Tom Lawlor face off during the official UFC 154 weigh in at New City Gas on November 16, 2012 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. (Photo by Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images)

Wiseman: Carmont has good standup, powerful knees and is constantly improving. Lawlor is a strong wrestler, has improved in his standup which can be enough to keep Carmont working hard. However, the experience, diversity and pure hunger at this point goes to Carmont.

MONTREAL, CANADA – NOVEMBER 16: (L-R) Opponents Martin Kampmann and Johny Hendricks face off during the official UFC 154 weigh in at New City Gas on November 16, 2012 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. (Photo by Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images)

Wiseman: This is going to be a tough fight. Kampmann is the more technical striker and Hendricks hasn’t had to fight that kind of a fighter. Hendricks is used to wrestlers, so going against Kampmann is going to pose a challenge. Kampmann tends to let things go further then they should when he is getting a beating. If he gets hit he tends to throw aside his technique and just turn things into a brawl. Kampmann, aside from his striking, also has a superior submission game.

MONTREAL, CANADA – NOVEMBER 16: (L-R) Opponents Georges St-Pierre and Carlos Condit face off during the official UFC 154 weigh in at New City Gas on November 16, 2012 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. (Photo by Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images)

Wiseman: At last, the big question of GSP’s return will be answered as he takes on The Natural Born Killer. Condit is extremely tough, well-skilled in Muay Thai and hungry for this belt. Condit has mentioned that he has been training for this fight non-stop with GSP on the shelf for a year and a half,. If there was ever a time to take the welterweight belt it’s now. However, St-Pierre is a perfectionist and therefore wouldn’t get inside the cage if he didn’t feel he was capable. He has better takedowns and better submissions then Condit, but Condit is good with the scramble. GSP is going to be working for this win, but Condit

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Our friends at Bodog.ca have the latest odds on the main event:

UFC Welterweight Title

Georges “Rush” St. Pierre -350

Carlos “Natural Born Killer” Condit +265

Georges St-Pierre, left, squares off with Carlos Condit following a news conference in Montreal, Thursday, September 27, 2012, where they announced their upcoming UFC 154 fight which will take place in Montreal on November 17. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Ryan Remiorz.

St-Pierre recently went 1-on-1 with Postmedia News MMA reporter Dave Deibert, discussing Movember, crying during movies and the supermodel that distracted him in the middle of a fight.

POSTMEDIA: This month has been dubbed Movember, with men sporting moustaches as a cancer fundraiser. On a scale of 1 to UFC Hall-of-Famer Dan Severn or Tom Selleck, what kind of moustache can you grow?

ST-PIERRE: I’m not a hairy guy, so it’s very hard for me to have a moustache. I would never be able to be like Dan Severn, unfortunately.

POSTMEDIA: Name the last TV show or movie to make you cry.

ST-PIERRE: The last one is called La Guerre des Tuques (a 1984 movie whose title translates in English to The Dog Who Stopped the War). It’s a kid’s movie and I was a kid when I saw it. I remember I was so shy. At the end, the doggie dies. I was so shy, I was crying and I tried to hide it. I didn’t want my sister to see it and then tell everyone at school and all my friends. I was hiding it. But they saw me. I cry one tear and everybody knew it (laughs).

POSTMEDIA: You’re stranded on a desert island. What DVD, CD and book do you bring?

ST-PIERRE: One DVD? I would take maybe a movie with Arnold Schwarzenegger. One book? Maybe The Art of War or something like that. A CD? Some hip-hop.

POSTMEDIA: Who’s the most famous person in your cellphone that you could call up right now?

ST-PIERRE: Jean-Claude Van Damme, maybe.

POSTMEDIA: Have you seen The Expendables 2?

ST-PIERRE: Of course.

POSTMEDIA: Have you ever been in the cage and your mind just wanders off?

ST-PIERRE: One time I was fighting against BJ Penn. I had his back against the fence. I’m not kidding you, for a few seconds I look and I was staring at a beautiful woman in the audience. It was … uh … (snaps fingers) Cindy Crawford. I stared at her. I’m thinking, ‘My God, she’s so beautiful. And she’s looking at me.’ And just next to her, I see her husband looking at me and I’m like, ‘Oh my God. I can’t look at her. Her husband’s looking at me.’ Now I’m thinking, ‘Of course, they’re looking at me. I’m doing the show right now and I’m in the middle of the fight.’ So I’m like, ‘Go back to your focus’ (laughs).

Sometimes when you fight, people don’t understand — you have to fight to really understand it — time comes slow. All these thoughts come in your mind in maybe one second, but all these thoughts cross your mind in that one second. Then you go back to normal speed. It’s kind of weird.

In Rocky, he has the slowdown — baaang, when he gets punched. This thing really happened. In a fight, the way it is, it’s very special. When you’re in a very stressful moment, like a surviving mode, stuff like that happens. It’s crazy. People don’t really believe it but it’s actually true. You can ask any other fighter. It does happen.

POSTMEDIA: Your name is always brought up in dream-fight scenarios, like BJ Penn, Nick Diaz or Anderson Silva. What would be your own personal dream fight?

ST-PIERRE: I would have liked to fight Jean-Claude Van Damme in Bloodsport (laughs). That would have been my dream fight, in an MMA cage.

POSTMEDIA: What’s a talent you secretly wish you had?

ST-PIERRE: I would like to be able to bluff better. I’m a terrible bluffer.

POSTMEDIA: Like in life or cards?

ST-PIERRE: In life and everything. I try sometimes. Someone asks me something: ‘How do I look?’ I say, ‘Oh, you look very nice.’ But I have a hard time lying. They see me and my eyes. This causes me a lot of trouble (laughs).

When the 28-year-old enters Ultimate Fighting Championship’s famed octagon at Bell Centre on Saturday night against hometown favourite — and legend of the sport — Georges St-Pierre in the main event of UFC 154, Condit will be one man against thousands.

There’s not much to dislike about Condit — a husband, a father, someone who has been chasing his dream since before he could legally drive a car. But the St-Pierre faithful have one reason to jeer, hiss and taunt the New Mexico native: He’s trying to take away the welterweight title St-Pierre has held since regaining it in April 2008 in Montreal.

Condit is Public Enemy No. 1 this week. It’s a role he has embraced — and thrived in — before.

“One of the best memories of my career is silencing the entire crowd at the O2 Arena against Dan Hardy,” said Condit (28-5). “That’s something I’ll remember for the rest of my life.”

The scene: London, England. The date: Oct. 16, 2010 for UFC 120. Hardy, who along with Michael Bisping are the faces of MMA in the United Kingdom, had become an even bigger star earlier in the year when he went five rounds before losing a decision to St-Pierre.

In his first match since that defeat, Hardy hoped to put on a show and return to title contention with a win over Condit.

Condit had different plans. He felt he was winning the first round decisively. In the final minute, he wanted to put an exclamation point on the round. He opened up, moved forward, sat down on his punches. Their faces were inches apart in the centre of the cage. Hardy threw a right hook. Condit threw a left. Only one of the shots landed.

“I’m not even sure if I felt it, but I saw him go down,” said Condit.

“I remember 20,000 people in there, the only people I could hear was my dad, my wife and my best friend screaming their heads off.”

In that moment, Condit was a made man. He was already known within the company as a fighter who could one day contend for a title. His high-profile win over Hardy vaulted him to the same status in the fans’ eyes.

Following a knockout-of-the-night at UFC 132 over Dong-Hyun Kim, he was slotted in to face St-Pierre for the title last October, after Nick Diaz was pulled from a championship bout for missing a pair of major promotional events.

It has taken 13 months — plus plenty of heartbreak and drama — for Condit to get the title bout.

A minor knee injury to St-Pierre delayed the match until last February. (“No big deal,” Condit remembers thinking.) But after Diaz beat BJ Penn and called out St-Pierre, going so far as to question whether St-Pierre was even hurt, GSP immediately insisted he fight Diaz in February, not Condit.

UFC — recognizing the rising popularity of anti-hero Diaz — elected to give him another chance against the clean-cut babyface St-Pierre. Condit went from No. 1 contender to the outside looking in.

“I was crushed for a minute,” said Condit. “I felt like somebody ran over my dog or something.”

But there would be one more turn in the saga. St-Pierre suffered a torn anterior cruciate ligament last December and was sidelined for nearly one year.

As a result, Condit faced Diaz for the interim title, with the winner given the chance to meet him in a unification bout. Given all that happened, Condit admits feeling a little extra pride in beating Diaz on Super Bowl weekend.

“You know what, some (expletive) is out of your control, you just gotta do what you can do, prepare and get ready for whoever it is you end up fighting next,” he said.

“The fact that it turned out so well, me getting the interim title shot against Diaz and then winning the fight, it was definitely satisfying.”

Condit was emotional that night, fighting back tears as Dana White wrapped a UFC title belt around his waist. It was a moment Condit had dreamt about almost since he first started training in MMA at age 15.

At the same time, he knows he’s only the interim champion until he beats the man who hasn’t lost since 2007, who won 33 rounds in a row at one point, who for years has been considered 1A and 1B alongside middleweight icon Anderson Silva as the top pound-for-pound fighters in the game.

St-Pierre (22-2) has seen firsthand how skilled Condit is, spending time in the past training alongside him at Greg Jackson’s gym in New Mexico.

So, while many others are salivating over a rumoured dream fight next year between St-Pierre and Silva, St-Pierre is making no such mistake.

“The importance for me is to take one fight at a time, focus on the present moment and that’s what I’m doing right now. I’m focusing on Carlos Condit,” said St-Pierre.

As the most important fight of his career draws closer, Condit has found himself thinking back “to the old days, how far I’ve come from fighting at tiny little casinos in the middle of nowhere, or in barns, to now fighting for the UFC title against one of the best guys to ever step in the octagon,” he said.

“Stephan Bonnar and Dave Herman tested positive for banned substances following their bouts at UFC 153. The UFC has a strict, consistent policy against the use of any illegal and/or performance-enhancing drugs, stimulants or masking agents. Both fighters have admitted taking the banned substances and have orally agreed to suspensions. Once the suspensions have been reduced to written agreements, the results of their tests and the agreed upon suspensions will be sent to the Association of Boxing Commissions official record-keeper so other jurisdictions will be on notice.”

“This injury was a negative thing in the beginning but it became a positive thing at the end,” said the UFC welterweight champion.

“Because it allowed me to correct my training and make it better and improve it.”

St-Pierre (22-2) will test his knee and new training regimen — part of which involved training with track sprinters in his hometown of Montreal — on Nov. 17 against Carlos (Natural Born Killer) Condit who won the UFC’s interim title during St-Pierre’s absence.

The two 170-pound division belts will become one at the Bell Centre where the real welterweight champion will be confirmed at UFC 154 in St-Pierre’s first fight since an April 2011 win over Jake Shields at Toronto’s Rogers Centre.

It’s a welcome return for the UFC which counts the 31-year-old St-Pierre as its biggest pay-per-view draw. GSP is literally money in the UFC bank.

St-Pierre has long been known for gruelling workouts and for taking little time off from the gym. He now believes his injury was perhaps caused by that pedal-to-the-metal training approach.

“I had the mentality that more is better, but I realize that’s wrong. Smarter is always better.”

As a result, he says he is enjoying his training more.

“I have more fun doing it,” he said. “I’m more fired up to go train now.”

That’s bad news for opponents since St-Pierre’s fights have always gone the way of his training. A good camp and he prospers in the cage.

The one exception was his first title defence against Matt (The Terror) Serra. St-Pierre, dogged by his father’s poor health and perhaps not handling his newfound fame, was stopped in the first round at UFC 69 in Houston in April 2007.

St-Pierre often says he doesn’t make the same mistake twice.

After the Serra loss, he rejigged his coaching and management support team. He hasn’t lost since, winning nine in a row.

St-Pierre will need to be at the top of his game against Condit, a former WEC champion who has disposed of Jake Ellenberger, Canadian Rory MacDonald, Dan Hardy, Dong Hyun Kim and Nick Diaz since losing a split decision in his UFC debut to Martin Kampmann in April 2009.

The 28-year-old Condit is a smart well-rounded fighter who seems to be putting his game together nicely.

He is durable, as MacDonald learned after dominated the early going of their fight only to fall under a late Condit barrage. His power should not be underestimated — ask Hardy.

He is opportunistic, savaging Kim with a flying knee when the opening arose. And he is savvy, sticking to a game plan that emphasized movement and distance against the prickly Diaz in their February fight for the interim title.

Condit (28-5) landed 151 significant strikes to 105 for Diaz, one of the best boxers in MMA. Some 68 of those were kicks directed at Diaz’s legs, according to FightMetric which tracks MMA stats.

St-Pierre was cageside that night in Las Vegas, rooting for Diaz to win because the surly California fighter had irked him by not showing up for joint news conferences prior to a previously planned bout.

Irate at Diaz’s no-shows, UFC boss Dana White dumped Diaz in favour of Condit-GSP but was eventually forced to match the two contenders when the champion had to withdraw through injury.

St-Pierre insists he had no problem with Condit being given a championship belt of his own that night in February.

“For me the belt doesn’t matter. I want to be the best,” St-Pierre explained. “It’s not really the belt that matters, it’s the meaning of it.”

Condit will have to deal with St-Pierre’s relentless takedowns. According to FightMetric, which tracks MMA stats, St-Pierre tops the UFC with 68 takedowns and a takedown success rate of 77.3 per cent.

“I do feel I’ll be able to take him down,” said St-Pierre, adding his focus is on what he does and not what Condit can do.

“I want to dictate the pace and make my fight, do what I want to do.”

Condit, who has fought less in the UFC than St-Pierre, defends 46 per cent of takedowns according to FightMetric. GSP ranks third in the UFC in takedown defence, stopping 88 per cent of opponents’ attempts.

St-Pierre can also use the takedown threat as a decoy, to set up another attack.

St-Pierre’s injury-plagued fall in 2011 started with a minor left knee problem and pulled hamstring. Because of the injury, he believes he overcompensated with his right leg when he returned to training.

The result of an attempted takedown during a wrestling drill was a torn anterior cruciate ligament and a small tear to his internal miniscus.

Reconstructive surgery to the right knee followed in mid-December. It was done by Neal ElAttrache, the surgeon who looked after NFL star Tom Brady’s knee in 2009.

“My knee feels like it never happened … It’s very strong,” St-Pierre said of the surgery which left only “a little scar.”

The champion’s biggest test is his diet. GSP is something of a foodie. Talk up a restaurant and he will ask you for the address.

“I love eating,” he acknowledged.

“No one in my family does sports and they’re all muscular and ripped,” he added. “They don’t have a problem. It’s good genetics, I’m lucky. I don’t get fat. I’m always in shape.”

Since St-Pierre has ties to trainer Greg Jackson and Condit trains at Jackson’s MMA in Albuquerque, N.M., the highly regarded coach will sit out the fight.

Quinton Jackson, Michael Bisping, Jose Aldo and Dan Henderson aren’t competing next month in Ultimate Fighting Championship’s return to Montreal. But each star may have indirectly and unknowingly had a small hand in slower-than-expected ticket sales for UFC 154.

The comeback of Montreal native and longtime welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre was thought to guarantee a first-week sellout when tickets became available in September for the Nov. 17 card. Instead, less than three weeks before St-Pierre, in his first fight since April 2011, meets interim welterweight champ Carlos Condit to unify the titles, large groups of seats can be found in each of the top-five price ranges, including 14th row on the floor.

UFC is still expecting a capacity crowd at the Bell Centre. (St-Pierre has main evented two prior cards in the arena: UFC 83, in April 2008, drew 21,390 fans paying a live gate of $5.1 million, while UFC 124 in 2010 drew 23,152 paying a gate of $4.6 million. The other two events at Bell Centre – UFC 97 and UFC 113 – averaged 19,549 fans paying $4.085 million at the gate.) It’s just taking a bit longer than anticipated.

UFC director of Canadian operations Tom Wright wonders if it’s the result of a year filled with injuries to big-name competitors who were forced to the sidelines.

“There’s been many examples over the last several fights – UFC 151 and 149 in Calgary is a good example of it – where fighters got injured and there were changes to the card,” said Wright in a recent interview.

“I think there are fans who are saying, ‘You know what? I’m really excited about GSP’s return and I love the fact that we’ve got (Martin) Kampmann versus (Johny) Hendricks in the co-main event, and we’ve got a bunch of Canadians on the card. But you know what? I bought my tickets 12 weeks out for Calgary and a whole bunch of things happened. I’m going to wait until it’s a little closer.’ ”

Injuries have been one of the biggest stories this year in UFC. In the last three months alone, UFC 147 in Brazil, UFC 148 in Las Vegas, UFC 149 in Calgary, UFC 151 in Vegas, UFC 152 in Toronto and UFC 153 in Brazil each underwent drastic changes. The list of fighters pulled, bumped or shuffled due to injuries – either their own or their opponent’s – reads like a who’s-who in the sport: Anderson Silva, Urijah Faber, Dominick Cruz, Wanderlei Silva, Rich Franklin, Vitor Belfort, Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, BJ Penn, Rory MacDonald, Mauricio Rua, Jon Jones, Jackson, Henderson, Bisping and Aldo, just to name a few.

UFC president Dana White and CEO Lorenzo Fertitta each said they had never experienced a card more plagued by injuries than the company’s debut in Calgary. Six weeks later, a knee injury to Henderson before his UFC 151 title bout versus Jones set off a domino effect that resulted in the first event cancellation in UFC history.

Sales to this point for UFC 154 are around 14,000, according to industry sources.

“Because of some of the uncertainty over fighters sometimes getting injured, and I think we just went through a really bad spell, it just happens,” said Wright.

Sometimes the company is able to pull a rabbit out of its hat, as was the case with UFC 153 earlier this month when an injured Aldo was replaced with reigning middleweight champ Anderson Silva.

“Anderson Silva’s not a bad substitute,” Wright said with a laugh, adding that it’s rare that perhaps the greatest fighter in the history of the sport is available for fill-in duty.

On UFC.com’s news page for UFC 154, the comments from several fans give credence to Wright’s theory.

“Now it’s just a mater (sic) of time before GSP or Condit announce their (sic) injured,” wrote Mainor Josh Bonilla on the page.

“ive (sic) learned not to get so hyped up anymore because who knows now if the fight you want to see will happen or now if someone screws up the card all together (sic)!” wrote Glen Hooker.

While he wishes it wasn’t the case, Wright acknowledges that after a string of high-profile injuries, fans may be hesitant to scoop up tickets the day they go on sale.

MONTREAL — Georges St-Pierre and Carlos Condit were each in possession of a glistening gold Ultimate Fighting Championship title belt, yet both feel like they are challengers to the throne.

Longtime UFC welterweight champion St-Pierre hasn’t fought since April 2011 thanks to a pair of knee injuries, including a torn right anterior cruciate ligament that required surgery.

By virtue of being out so long, he thinks he’s forfeited the right to be billed as champion.

Condit beat Nick Diaz in February to claim the interim championship in St-Pierre’s absence.

But, as Condit said, paraphrasing the familiar line from professional wrestling icon Ric Flair: to be the man, you’ve got to beat the man.

The two top welterweights get the chance to see just who is the man when they square off Nov. 17 in a title unification bout at UFC 154, in front of what is expected to be a sellout crowd of around 22,000 at the Bell Centre.

“I’m not the official champ. Georges has been such a dominant champion the last couple of years that until someone beats him, he’s the undisputed champion,” said Condit (28-5) during a news conference Thursday at the Montreal Science Centre to kick off ticket sales for the event.

“Until I beat him, I don’t feel like I’m a true champion.”

St-Pierre (22-2) says he has renewed passion and motivation to show the world what he can do.

“For me, in my contract, I was supposed to defend my title every year and I couldn’t do it because of the injury,” said St-Pierre, who has held the belt since April 2008, defending it six times during that span.

“The champion to me is Carlos Condit. It’s up to me to take the title.”

Added St-Pierre: “I’ve never been so pumped up in my life to step in the octagon again.”

Canadian fans — and Montreal fans in particular — have gained a reputation alongside Brazilians as the loudest, most boisterous in the sport. Knowing he’ll face the hometown hero at UFC 154, Condit is actually relishing the moment.

“I kind of enjoy the role of the bad guy, coming into somebody else’s hometown, trying to defeat them,” said Condit, who has knocked out Englishman Dan Hardy in London and B.C. native Rory MacDonald in Vancouver.

“I think I have a skill set that matches up well with Georges.”

Condit has long dreamt about this opportunity.

The two were first scheduled to meet at UFC 137 last October but St-Pierre was hurt two weeks before the event.

The match was rescheduled to take place in February, but Diaz was moved into Condit’s slot after infuriating St-Pierre with post-fight comments after a win over BJ Penn. But when St-Pierre tore his ACL, Condit beat Diaz to win the interim title and earn the right to face St-Pierre upon his return.

Condit was given the choice by UFC to either defend his interim title — thus risking his potential dream fight — or to wait for GSP’s return. Though it will have been nine months between matches, Condit has no doubt he made the right choice.

“My goal in the sport is to be the best in the world. Georges St-Pierre is the best fighter in the welterweight division,” said Condit.

“To be the best, I have to beat Georges. So I feel I did the right thing in waiting for Georges.”

While much of his time off has been spent thinking about St-Pierre, Condit feels previous title challengers spent too much effort focused on finding a weakness in St-Pierre’s game. Good luck, said Condit, pointing out that St-Pierre is one of the most well-rounded fighters in the sport.

Instead, Condit is worried only about being “the best that I can be, and not worry so much about what Georges brings to the table.”

The two, who both have close ties with coach Greg Jackson and have trained together in the past, share a mutual admiration.

That won’t slow them down come fight night, UFC director of Canadian operations Tom Wright noted.

“These guys are both gentlemen, and all the gentleman stuff goes out the window or door when the cage is locked,” he said.

“There’s a lot of respect between us,” said Condit. “But we’re coming to fight. There’s no dancing around that.”

Added St-Pierre: “Nov. 17, we won’t be gentlemen. We’ll try to knock each other out.”

MMA Crossfire – The hard-hitting blog that features expert commentary.

“One of the pound-for-pound best fighters in the world, Georges St-Pierre, is coming home to Montreal to defend not only his pound-for-pound standing, but his welterweight world title,” said UFC president Dana White.

“St-Pierre has been off for over a year recovering from knee surgery and now has to face his toughest test in interim welterweight champion Carlos Condit, who won the interim championship by defeating Nick Diaz while GSP was injured. So on Nov. 17, in Montreal, Canada, it’s champion vs. champion to see who will leave the undisputed UFC welterweight king!”

Georges St-Pierre rests against the ropes between rounds of training session at Tristar Gym in this file photo.

St-Pierre has defended the belt six times. Condit is expected to be his toughest opponent to date.

“I’m excited to finally get back in the Octagon and reclaim my spot as the UFC welterweight champion,” St-Pierre said. “Carlos Condit is a very tough opponent. He has really good striking and very good submission skills. I respect him a lot and look forward to fighting him in front of my hometown fans in Montreal.”

“This is the fight the fans have been waiting so long to see,” added Condit. “I still have not realized my goal of being the UFC welterweight champion, and to do that, I need to defeat Georges and unify the belt. I’veworked my entire career for this fight, and I am excited it is finally happening.”

]]>http://o.canada.com/sports/mma-crossfire-ufc-154s-gsp-and-condit-eager-to-prove-who-the-undisputed-welterweight-champ-is/feed9mmacrossfireMMA CrossfireGeorges St-PierreUFC 143: Diaz v ConditSt-Pierre feels he is the underdog in comeback from knee injuryhttp://o.canada.com/sports/st-pierre-feels-he-is-the-underdog-in-comeback-from-knee-injury
http://o.canada.com/sports/st-pierre-feels-he-is-the-underdog-in-comeback-from-knee-injury#commentsThu, 27 Sep 2012 19:58:41 +0000http://postmediacanadadotcom.wordpress.com/?p=118097]]>MONTREAL — Despite his accomplishments in the Octagon, mixed martial arts star Georges St-Pierre insists he will be the challenger when he faces Carlos Condit at the Bell Centre.

St-Pierre will have been out of action for 19 months when he defends his Ultimate Fighting Championship welterweight title before a home crowd in UFC 154 on Nov. 17 at what will likely be a sold-out Bell Centre.

During St-Pierre’s layoff, Condit defeated Nick Diaz for the interim championship. Their showdown will settle which of them is really No. 1 at 170 pounds.

“In my contract, I was supposed to defend my title every year and I couldn’t do it because of my injury, so the champion to me is Carlos Condit,” St-Pierre said to applause from about 200 fans at a news conference Thursday at the Montreal Science Centre.

“It’s up to me to take the title, so I’m going for the title. That’s how I see it.”

Neither of them could be called a hothead, and that was the closest they came to a disagreement. St-Pierre even called Condit “a gentleman.”

But he also said that opponents who don’t use trash talk are often the toughest in the cage.

“He’s very well rounded and smart,” St-Pierre said. “He adapts well to any style of fighter, but I’m going to take care of business.

“I have two challenges. I’m fighting the most dangerous and most well rounded martial artist I’ve ever fought and I’m also coming back from a long layoff, so it’s two challenges in one. But as a real martial artist, I ask nothing less.”

St-Pierre (22-2) will defend his championship belt for the seventh time.

He has won his last nine bouts, but hasn’t fought since he beat Jake Shields in Toronto in April, 2011 due to a knee injury that required surgery. He acknowledges there will be some ring rust, but he said the knee is 100 per cent healed and he is confident he has not lost a step.

Even before the injury, he said his energy was fading and knew he needed to change a few things in his training and his approach to fighting. That’s what he did during the layoff.

“I was going (to training) because I had to, not because I wanted to,” he said. “I lost motivation.

“I learned that in your career, sometimes you need to break something and fix it before it breaks by itself. I didn’t need to lose a fight to improve my training schedule. I needed to stay on top before the fight game catches up to me. That’s what the long layoff allowed me to do. To think about stuff.

“I’m very glad to be back. I changed a lot in my training and in my life and I’ve never been so pumped up.”

Both fighters normally have Greg Jackson in their corner, but the veteran coach will not work either corner for this fight card. St-Pierre said it won’t matter.

“I like to have Greg in my corner, but we’ll both have the same problem,” he said. “The corner doesn’t really matter.

“Even if the Pope or my grandmother was in my corner, the truth is that when you come back after a round you’re exhausted. You have maybe 20 seconds where the person can tell you what to do or change your strategy. The rest of the time your just recuperate.”

It will be daunting for Condit to fight in front of a full house that will be almost entirely on St-Pierre’s side, especially against one of the top stars and top pay-per-view draws in UFC. But he relishes the role of “the bad guy fighting in an opponent’s home town.

“When I fought in my home town it was probably the most nervous I’ve ever been, the most pressure I’ve ever felt,” he said. “When I fight in someone else’s home town I feel it’s my fight to win.

“No pressure. I just get to go out there and perform to the best of my ability and not worry about anything else.”

It will be the fifth UFC card held in Montreal and the third one with St-Pierre in the main event.

Tom Wright, president of UFC Canada, said the organization hopes to make it a regular part of its schedule to have a card each year in Montreal in the third week of March and another in Toronto on the third week of September.

“It helps our fans because they can plan their travel and their schedule,” Wright said. “And we feel it’s important to have that kind of consistency to our schedule to allow our fans and business

More than 20,000 tickets for the return of Ultimate Fighting Championship legend Georges St-Pierre are expected to sell out this week quicker than a GSP jab. But just how many thousands more fans would have flocked to Montreal to see UFC 154 in November if the opportunity was there?

It’s a question that will remain unanswered — but it was an idea the company explored.

UFC director of Canadian operations Tom Wright said in an interview Wednesday that the promotion did indeed look into booking Olympic Stadium on Nov. 17 for UFC 154, headlined by a unification bout between reigning UFC welterweight champ St-Pierre and interim titleholder Carlos Condit. The cavernous facility has a capacity of 66,308 for football, which, if UFC even came close to, would have set a North American mixed-martial-arts record.

One major problem arose: That’s the same weekend as the Canadian Football League’s East and West Division finals. The Montreal Alouettes — currently atop the East standings — have a hold on the building in case they host the Nov. 18 East final.

“I can tell you Georges wanted us to consider it, and we did,” said Wright.

The scheduling conflict wasn’t the only thing preventing the stadium show, Wright added. The company would have faced major logistical issues in a deteriorating building approaching 40 years of age.

“You’ve got to remember: the roof of The Big O is not the same as the roof of Rogers Centre,” he said.

UFC 129 was held at the Toronto stadium in April 2011, drawing a record-55,724 fans paying a live gate of more than $12 million. The setup for that event — extra screens, speakers, lighting and more — rivalled anything seen at even the biggest concerts.

“We had 350 points of rigging on the roof of the Rogers Centre,” noted Wright.

“I’m not so sure the roof at The Big O can handle that.”

UFC will instead return to its Montreal home base, where some of the biggest cards in company history have been held.

St-Pierre has main evented two prior pay-per-views at the Bell Centre: UFC 83 in April 2008 drew 21,390 fans paying a live gate of $5.1 million, while UFC 124 in December 2010 drew 23,152 paying a gate of $4.6 million.

The other two events at Bell Centre — UFC 97 in April 2009 and UFC 113 in May 2010 — averaged 19,549 fans paying $4.085 million.

“I would say that we’re more than happy to be in the Bell Centre,” said Wright.

Tickets for UFC 154 are priced at $600, $400, $325, $250, $150, $100, and $75, and are available to the general public Saturday at 1 p.m. EST at the Bell Centre box office, by phone at (514) 790-2525 or 1-877-668-8269, and at Evenko.ca. UFC Fight Club members can purchase tickets Thursday at 1 p.m. EST at UFCFightClub.com, while an Internet pre-sale is open to UFC newsletter subscribers Friday at 1 p.m. EST through UFC.com.

A press conference featuring St-Pierre and Condit is open to the public Thursday at noon at the Montreal Science Centre.

St-Pierre hasn’t fought since beating Jake Shields at UFC 129. Last October, he suffered a sprained left medial collateral ligament, and then in December he required surgery after tearing the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee.

“I’m excited to finally get back in the octagon and reclaim my spot as the UFC welterweight champion,” said St-Pierre. “Carlos Condit is a very tough opponent. He has really good striking and very good submission skills. I respect him a lot and look forward to fighting him in front of my hometown fans in Montreal.”

Condit, meanwhile, hasn’t fought since beating Nick Diaz at UFC 143 in February to win the interim title.

“This is the fight the fans have been waiting so long to see. I still have not realized my goal of being the UFC welterweight champion and to do that, I need to defeat Georges and unify the belt,” said Condit.

“I’ve worked my entire career for this fight, and I am excited it is finally happening.”